Thunderbolts and Lightning, Very Very Frightning
Okay, it wasn't exactly a Bohemian Rhapsody at the Barclays, but play WAS delayed twice due to lightning in the area. And as a result, it's way too early to even guess who might be in contention come Sunday.
For the guys who played early, it was a long day. Tiger, for instance, needed 11 hours to finish his round. (He's -4, just 3 off the lead.) He said the rain made the course play much slower than in the practice rounds, and that clearly played into the game late in the day.
Some of those late starters are struggling but it's still early in their rounds. For example, Bill Haas is +2 but he's only played 5 holes. The early part of the course has played fairly difficult, especially for the guys who played late, but there's plenty of time to come back with a good score. Mickelson, at -1 after 6 holes, bogeyed the first hole but came back with 2 birdies. McIlroy, who played early in the day, had 3 doubles but still managed to post at E.
My pick for the week, Dustin Johnson, is E after 6 holes. My pick to take it all, Jordan Spieth, started on the back 9 with a double and made the turn at +3, but finished with 4 birdies on his front 9 to post at -1.
If you didn't catch any of the first round, you should definitely take a peek at the leaderboard. You just might be surprised at some of the leaders. Kevin Stadler's on top, Camilo Villegas is just one back, Ryan Palmer and Jason Day are in the mix. (Of course, some of the usual suspects like Henrik Stenson are up there as well.) The leaderboard will probably change a lot today as the first round players finally post, but it appears the course changes are making it more scoreable despite the rain..
The irony of it all? While the guys at the Barclays struggled with bad song lyrics, it seems that the "Queen" was in Canada. In case you didn't hear, defending champion Lydia Ko is already tied for the lead after the first round.
To paraphrase the late Freddie Mercury... "Better tie your mother down!" This weekend could get a little wild.
Labels: players, tournaments
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