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A tale of two waves unfolded at Port Royal Golf Course as those in the morning hours dealt with the harshest of conditions. Pre-tournament favorite, Matthew Fitzpatrick carded an opening round of even-par 71. Well accustomed to playing in the elements, the Englishman shared just how difficult the course was playing.
Speaking to the media, the world No. 26 said, “No, this is the hardest wind I’ve ever played in. You see winds like this, but normally you don’t play in them. This was the hardest wind I’ve ever played in. I absolutely ripped a drive on seven. People are going to laugh at this because they probably think it’s my normal tee shot, but anyway, I ripped it and it went 245. That’s -- I think my season average last year was like 295. Just shows you how strong it is.”
He wasn’t alone as the morning wave of play averaged 74.19, just a shade above 3-over. Unfortunately for them, those conditions would subside not too long after the completion of their play. Much to the delight of the other half of the field, those playing in the afternoon took advantage of the 20 mph winds.
While there were a number of players to have strong performances, none were better than Brandon Hagy. Beginning his day on the back-nine, the 30-year-old made birdie on four consecutive holes before reaching the difficult par-4 15th. The toughest hole of the day, Hagy would double-bogey before turning in 3-under 32.
Tacking on four more birdies and a bogey, the former Cal Golden Bear produced an opening round of 6-under 65 to take the first-round lead. Between Danny Lee, Scott Gutschewski, and Sean O’Hair, we had a brief moment of hope for our Thursday aspirations, but in the end, it was not meant to be.
The oddsmakers at PointsBet Sportbook have Chad Ramey listed as the favorite after Round 1. The PGA Tour rookie tied Hagy’s lead at 6-under just before play was suspended due to darkness Thursday evening.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+600: Chad Ramey
+900: Brandon Hagy, Patrick Reed, Seamus Power
+1400: Vincent Whaley
+1600: Kiradech Aphibarnrat
+2000: Garrick Higgo, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Patrick Rodgers
+2500: Danny Lee, Dylan Frittelli, Greyson Sigg
+3300: Christiaan Bezuidenhout
+4000: Adam Svensson, Alex Smalley, Austin Eckroat, David Skinns, Taylor Pendrith
+5000: Justin Lower, Lucas Herbert, Russell Knox
Round 2 Plays (Odds Via PointsBet):
Hayden Buckley (+6000 to win):
The afternoon conditions look a bit easier tomorrow, sticking with the early theme of this year’s Bermuda Championship. While I don’t believe it will totally even out, I expect those who got the worst of the weather today to put their best foot forward on Friday.
While there are relatively strong players at the top of the leaderboard, the majority will be off in the morning, meaning we’ll be targeting someone with an afternoon tee time. That player will be Buckley as he sits in a tie for 35th at even-par and six-strokes behind the leaders.
Hitting 11 of 14 fairways in the blustery conditions, the PGA Tour rookie played the more difficult back-nine in 2-under. Unfortunately, he was unable to take advantage of the scorable holes coming in, playing the inland holes poorly and the front-nine as a whole in 2-over. Despite this, he hit 11 greens in regulation, which was only two less than the morning’s top performance courtesy of Sigg.
A proven winner at every level, he arrived to Port Royal GC in fantastic form. Striking the ball beautifully, the 25-year-old captured finishes of T-4 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T-8 at the Shriners Children’s Open. I fancied his chances coming into the week, just not his price, but believe this could be an opportunity to gain some exposure to my pre-tournament inkling.
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