When you put PGA Tour players on a resort course with no wind, then let them play preferred lies, the scores are going to be really low and that was the case on Thursday at the Mayakoba Championship.
Will Gordon was the lowest of the low shooters at El Camaleon Golf Club with a nine-under par 62 next to his name on the scoreboard. It marked Gordon’s first time as sole leader in a PGA Tour event. He held the first round co-lead at Sanderson Farms but eventually finished 30th.
Gordon’s round was powered by four straight back nine birdies and gave him a one-shot lead over Russell Henley on a day with no wind whatsoever and players able to lift-clean-and-place the golf ball in the fairway thanks to heavy rains earlier in the week.
Gordon had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour last year to regain his PGA Tour card. He thought he was off to a reasonable start in the new season by making every cut, and then he was five shots behind going into the final round in Bermuda last week. He played the final four holes in 4-over par and tied for 35th.
“I just had an up-and-down week in Bermuda,” Gordon said after his round. “Played some really good golf for probably 68 holes and had a rough finish. So I didn’t have many expectations coming into this week. It’s just really about managing my expectations and my emotions, so I feel like I did a good job of that today.”
World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler started finding his groove. He opened with a six-under par 65 and was tied for seventh along with defending champion Viktor Hovland, who has a chance for a rare PGA Tour three-peat after two straight wins at this event.
Harris English is showing signs that he’s returning to form. He’s been in recovery mode from hip surgery but opened with a seven-under par 64 and was in a group of players tied for third that included former Open champion Francesco Molinari, who is also looking to regain his previous form.
English had two wins in 2021 and made a solid contribution in his Ryder Cup debut. He had hip issues that nagged him for the past few years and after five months of recovery time, he came back at The Memorial last season and it’s taken a while for him to get going.
“It’s definitely getting better,” English said. “I went through a lot of rehab. But your expectations for coming back are so much higher than they should be. I’m so competitive and I want to be the mix so badly. You’ve got to give yourself time to heal and time to get your game back.
“But I love it here. I love the atmosphere,” he said. “I’m excited about the next few days.”
Tony Finau made his first start of the new season. He got off to a tough start — he was three-over through five holes but rallied and played the last 13 holes in six-under par and posted a three-under par 68 that had him tied for 45th. That’s how low the scoring was on day one.
The 36-hole cut could be as low as six-under par come Friday evening.
World No. 9 Collin Morikawa will have to improve on day two. He opened with an even par 71 and needs to go low on Friday to stick around for the weekend.
Bubba Watson Claims He Was Paid To Play In Tour Events:
There hasn’t been much out of Bubba Watson since he defected to the LIV circus/exhibition series. He’s been recovering from knee surgery and Bad Knee Bubba’s been part of the talking heads on the U-Tube broadcasts.
Well, Bi-Polar Bubba stirred the old Pot Of Controversy this week when he claims he was paid under the table to play in PGA Tour events.
Tour regulations prohibit that.
It’s been common practice for brand ambassadors to play in certain Tour events where their company is a sponsor. For instance, RBC brand ambassadors are typically required to play in events where RBC is the event sponsor. So technically, those players were paid to show up at certain Tour events.
But Watson claimed he received those under-the-table payments.
“I got paid behind closed doors to show up at tournaments, many tournaments,” Watson told ESPN this week. “And if Bubba Watson’s not the best, that means the best were getting paid better than me and more than me. And so it’s guaranteed money. I miss the cut, I still make money. I make the cut, I make extra money.”
If that were truly the case, LIV Defector-In-Chief (aka Phil Mickelson) would have made that revelation by now as he’s continually hammered the PGA Tour.
