J.T. Poston delivers to lead American Express first round
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J.T. Poston conjured a scintillating finish to edge clear of the field on a day of low-scoring at La Quinta, outside Palm Springs.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – J.T. Poston had “one of those good days”, as he fired a 10-under 62 to grab a one-shot lead after the opening round of the PGA Tour’s American Express tournament in the California desert on Jan 16.
Poston, 31, chasing a fourth PGA Tour win after victory at the Shriners Children’s Open in October, conjured up a scintillating finish to edge clear of the field on a day of low-scoring at La Quinta, outside Palm Springs.
With the opening rounds of the tournament taking place on three different courses, he tamed the par-72 Nicklaus Tournament course with a near-flawless performance.
Teeing off on the back nine, Poston reached the turn at four under after four early birdies. There was a brief blip on the 378-yard par-four 10th hole of the day, where he bogeyed after hitting fairway and greenside bunkers.
But he responded to that setback with three straight birdies, and then went birdie-eagle-birdie before parring the last.
“It was just one of those days where everything was sort of clicking,” Poston said.
“I really hit my irons great, drove it good, gave myself plenty of chances, and believe it or not missed a few putts inside of 10 feet the first nine holes.
“Just one of those days tee to green it was really good and iron play was really sharp.”
The American will not be taking anything for granted over the remainder of the tournament though, with a logjam near the top of the leaderboard.
Justin Lower trails by one shot on nine under after a bogey-free 63.
The highlight of Lower’s round at La Quinta Country Club came with back-to-back eagles on the par-five fifth and sixth holes. On both eagles, he holed out from the fairway.
“I’ve never done that, I don’t even think I’ve done it in just a regular round, but let alone a tournament round,” Lower admitted. “Any time you can make back-to-back eagles, it certainly helps the score.”
Five players are tied for third place on eight under, including Australia’s Jason Day and Germany’s Matti Schmid.
Schmid drained eight birdies in a bogey-free 64, while Day recovered from an early bogey on his second hole.
Ten players are tied for eighth place on seven under, three shots off the lead, including Austria’s Sepp Straka and Canada’s Nick Taylor.
In other news, the PGA Tour event that Tiger Woods was scheduled to host in Southern California in February will be played at an alternate venue due to the massive wildfires
The Genesis Invitational, a PGA Tour Signature Event that has a US$20 million (S$27.3 million) purse and benefits Woods’ TGR Foundation, will still be played from Feb 13 to 16 but not at its typical home of Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
The PGA Tour, which is identifying ways the tournament can support the Los Angeles community and relief efforts, did not mention potential replacement venues or even whether the event would remain in California. AFP, REUTERS
