Palmer's dusk finish produces 7-under 64
Share with others:
Ryan Palmer parred his final hole at dusk for a 7-under 64 and the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The start of the round was delayed an hour because of frost, and play was suspended because of darkness with 42 players unable to finish. A year ago, frost and frozen greens delayed play nine hours during the week, forcing a Monday finish.
"I knew I was going to be here in the morning for the second round, so I wasn't worried about it if we had to come back and restart," Palmer said. "So, I didn't think about it and I just kept hitting shots and sticking to my game plan."
Webb Simpson was a stroke back on the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale.
"It's one of those courses that just fits your eye well," said Simpson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 6.
Palmer switched back to a trusted Odyssey putter model after missing the cuts in his previous starts this year in the Sony Open and Humana Challenge. Palmer, a three-tour PGA Tour winner, made seven birdie putts from 10-15 feet.
"I used the exact same putter the last two years, and of course had two of the best years of my career," Palmer said. "But toward the end of the year last year, around the BMW, I just got frustrated with not making anything, so I thought I'd try something different, put a similar style head in play and actually had some success. But my first two weeks out here I could tell I wasn't comfortable when I'd get over the short putts."
He was 8 under after a birdie on No. 6, but had his lone bogey on No. 7 and parred the final two holes. Jarrod Lyle, Harrison Frazar, Derek Lamely, Kevin Na and Chez Reavie were two strokes behind at 66, and Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner and Spencer Levin also were 5 under.
Kyle Stanley opened with a 69, four days after a devastating loss in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He made a triple-bogey-8 on the final hole of regulation and lost to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff.
• Qatar Masters: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain finished with three consecutive birdies for a 6-under 66 at the Qatar Masters, overcoming wind and blowing sand to lead after the first round. John Daly (67) was a shot behind, followed by K.J. Choi (68) and Jason Day (68).
• Australian Ladies Masters: Lee Bo-mee of South Korea shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead in Gold Coast. U.S. Open champion So Yeon Ryu was a stroke back at 66 with fellow South Korean Hee Kyung Seo and Christel Boeljon of the Netherlands.
• Phil Mickelson filed a lawsuit against an Internet service provider in Canada to learn the identity of a person who has been posting "vexatious statements" that the four-time major champion said is a deliberate attack on his reputation. In his lawsuit against Videotron S.E.N.C in Quebec Superior Court, Mickelson cited comments posted on Yahoo! Sports on Nov. 11 and 12, in which one or more persons under the pseudonyms "Fogroller" and "Longtitude" make statements that allege, among other things, that Mickelson's wife had an affair and that he fathered an illegitimate child.
First Published February 3, 2012 12:00 am
