|
Poston holds a two-shot lead over Canada's Michael Gligic, who
shot a career-low 64 to get to 7 under.
Vaughn Taylor and PGA Tour rookie Christopher Gotterup are tied
for third at 6-under 65.
It was Poston's second straight week shooting a 62, his career
low, to open a tournament. He also shared the first-round lead
at last week's Travelers Championship before eventually tying
for second. However, Poston is still looking for his first win
on tour since August 2019.
Poston started his bogey-free round on the back nine and made
five birdies over his first 10 holes, including three straight
at Nos. 17, 18 and 1.
He already had the lead when he stepped to the tee at the par-5
second hole. After reaching the green in two shots, he drained a
26-foot putt for eagle.
If that weren't enough, he escaped some trouble at the par-4
fourth by holing out from a bunker for another birdie.
"I looked at (caddie Aaron) Flener like, 'Did that really
happen?'" Poston said. "I mean, it's kind of one of those -- I
think it was the first green that I missed, and to hole it out
and make birdie is just kind of -- you're not really thinking
you're going to make it, but when you do, you just realize it
could be one of those days."
Gligic, ranked No. 508 in the Official World Golf Ranking, rang
up seven birdies without a bogey Thursday, including three
straight at Nos. 7-9. He has just one top-10 finish in his PGA
Tour career.
"I never really got into trouble," Gligic said. "Hit a lot of
fairways. Hit I think maybe 17 or 16 greens and just never
really got into too much trouble. Yeah, just giving myself a lot
looks. Some of them fell, and hopefully we can do that
tomorrow."
Ricky Barnes, Denny McCarthy, Chris Naegel and South Africa's
Dylan Frittelli were tied for fifth after rounds of 5-under 66.
U.S. Ryder Cup captain and two-time major winner Zach Johnson
opened with a 2-under 69. Defending champion Lucas Glover had a
3-over 74.
Former world No. 1 Jason Day of Australia withdrew before the
first round due to a back injury.
--Field Level Media
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
