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Play was suspended Thursday evening due to darkness, and 13
players will complete their first rounds early Friday. Officials
called for a brief five-minute delay in the early afternoon due
to high winds and rain at Port Royal Golf Course.
Hagy and Ramey lead Vincent Whaley (66) by a shot. Six others
are tied at 4-under 67.
Ramey finished bogey-free and made four of his six birdies on
the front nine, his second nine after starting at No. 10. The
29-year-old earned his tour card in September after a successful
Korn Ferry Tour season.
"I feel pretty comfortable," Ramey said. "There's 25 to 50 other
guys that I played with that are out here every week. I feel
pretty comfortable. It's just new courses really. You know, the
golf's the same, it's just (that) I kind of have to play a
little more just to learn the new courses."
Hagy tallied nine birdies but also suffered a double-bogey at
the par-4 15th hole and another bogey at the par-5 seventh on
his way in. He led the field in average driving distance (287
yards) amid a windy day.
"My mindset was just trying to hit solid balls and stay down and
try and stay composed on the greens and just got to keep my head
down, try to keep a solid strike on it," Hagy said. "You know
you're going to get some gusts, some situations where you're
going to miss it.
"Like on my seventh hole there, I had like a
two-and-a-half-footer and got gusted as I'm putting it. That
stuff's going to happen. You're just going to have to decide
before the round that everyone's dealing with it and try the
best you can."
Hagy, ranked No. 191 in the world, is in search of his first
victory on tour.
Patrick Reed, the highest-ranked player in the field, shot a
3-under 68 to join a tie for 10th three strokes back. Reed
birdied his first three holes, but his main highlight came at
the par-5 17th. After incurring a penalty for an out-of-bounds
tee shot, Reed aimed for the green from the right rough. His
ball bounced a few feet in front of the cup and dropped for
eagle.
"Overcut it in the hazard, took a drop and we had 210 (to the)
flag, 204 cover on the line, and I was thinking with how much
wind was blowing, hit 7-iron," Reed said. "And (coach Kevin
Kirk) was like, 'No, downwind,' How hard it's been blowing, the
ball hasn't really been traveling, into the wind's getting
killed.
"He said, 'I like the 6, it's a perfect 6.' So I went with a 6
and I flushed it and it went in."
Reed's card featured a double-bogey, three bogeys and six
birdies in addition to that eagle.
Brian Morris, a head pro in Bermuda who is dealing with stage IV
brain cancer, is playing the event on a sponsor invite. Morris
was 15 over through 15 holes when his round was suspended.
--Field Level Media
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