Weekley,
de Jonge set pace in New Orleans
Send a link to a friend
[April 24, 2015]
(Reuters) - American Boo Weekley,
seeking his first PGA Tour victory in two years, took advantage of
rain-softened conditions to grab a share of the lead in the Zurich
Classic of New Orleans opening round on Thursday.
|
With a few family members spurring him on, the 41-year-old birdied
four of his last eight holes to card an eight-under-par 64 at the
TPC Louisiana, setting the early pace before being caught late in
the day by burly Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge.
Canada's David Hearn and American Sean O'Hair fired 65s to finish a
stroke in front of Englishmen Brian Davis and Greg Owen and
Americans Daniel Berger, Mark Hubbard and Erik Compton while
Australian Jason Day was among a group bunched on 67.
Play was suspended for just over an hour during the afternoon
because of heavy rain and 12 players will have to complete the
opening round on Friday.
Weekley, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour who lives in Florida,
had an eagle, seven birdies and a lone bogey at a venue softened by
more than nine inches of rainfall last week.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Apr/24/images/ads/current/hicksgas_sda_animate_040215.gif)
"I just like the way the layout is," Weekley told Golf Channel.
"We're back on Bermuda grass and it's close to home. And the
temperature man, I love the heat. It's a great place to come and
play.
"The fans are awesome and they get behind you. With it being close
to the house like this, I've got a lot of family members that come
over and that kind of helps you out a little bit, gives you a little
bit of a confidence boost."
Weekley also benefited from a new set of irons that worked well for
him in Wednesday's pro-am competition.
"I played good in the pro-am, the first time in a while that I
actually felt like I could hit my shots, hit my numbers and control
the trajectory of the ball," he said. "It felt good to be able to
come out today and play, and make some putts."
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/logan_lanes_lda_030714.png)
Australian world number six Day relished playing in the company of
seventh-ranked Dustin Johnson and his fellow American Ben Crane, who
also carded 67s.
"I made a great start, birdieing the first hole, and everyone kind
of followed suit after that," said Day. "The course is very
receptive, it's very gettable. It was good to be a part of a group
with DJ and Ben Crane. We had a lot of fun out there."
South Korea's Noh Seung-yul, who won last year's title by two shots,
launched his title defense with a 73.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Apr/24/images/ads/current/business_directory_filler.png)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Apr/24/images/ads/current/peasley%20lda%20080907.png) |