Peter Malnati has had two weeks off through no choice of his own.
At No. 166 in the world, he doesn’t get into the fat-cat events like the CJ Cup and the Zozo championship.
But Peter and the rest of the journeymen are perfectly at home in the Bermuda Championship. Malnati felt extra good on Thursday at Port Royal Golf Club — he went out and put together an eight-under par 63 to grab the first round lead.
Malnati entered the week off back-to-back top fives — it’s the first time he’s accomplished that feat in his career. For his round, he hit nine of 14 fairways, was on 14 greens in regulation and used just 24 putts. Malnati has posted a score better than the field average in eight of his last nine rounds.
By day’s end, Malnati held a first round lead for the first time in his career.
That 63 earned him a one-shot lead over Doug Ghim and Ryan Armour. Ghm, ranked 485 in the world, had a bogey-free day and signed for 64.
Ghim’s short game was sharp on Thursday as he hit just 13 greens. He chipped in for birdie twice, including one at the 18th to finish his day in style.
His 64 was just a shot short of his career round, a 63 on day one of the 2019 Farmers.
Ghim has never had a top 10 on the PGA Tour.
Defending champion Brendon Todd, who started his comeback here last year, didn’t look like he’d repeat after opening with an even-par round of 71.
The pre-tournament favorite, Will Zelatoris, had a so-so day with a two-under par 69.
