|
Day rang up eight birdies, five of them on the back nine, to
establish a one-shot lead over Joel Dahmen. Five players were
tied for third at 5-under 65: Matthew Wolff, Denny McCarthy,
Englishmen Aaron Rai and Callum Tarren and France's Paul Barjon.
Once the top-ranked player in the world, Day is down to No. 127
in the Official World Golf Ranking due in part to lingering
injuries. He has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2018 Wells
Fargo, his 12th career title.
That victory came at the tournament's usual home of Quail Hollow
in Charlotte, N.C. TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm is filling in for
2022, with Quail Hollow set to host the Presidents Cup in the
fall.
"I don't want to get ahead of myself because I know that it's
easy in the position I am right now, after a good round, to get
ahead of myself and start talking where it could potentially
go," Day said. "But I think I've just got to stay as present as
possible because if I can swing it the way I'm swinging it and
have the short game and the touch that I have on the greens, I
mean, I played some really good golf today.
"I feel like I can get back to where I need to be, but that's a
total decision up top in my head if I want to climb that
mountain again."
Dahmen had a hot start to his 64, posting six birdies and no
bogeys on the front nine for a 29. After one bogey on No. 11, he
hit his tee shot at the par-3 17th to 6 feet to set up a final
birdie.
"I was surprised," Dahmen said. "It's a tough golf course, so I
knew I was playing well and birdies were going early. But over
72 holes everyone's going to get hot for a stretch. I happened
to get hot on the front nine of the first round. Hopefully I can
stay hot or get hot again somewhere along the way."
McCarthy had a stellar round not far from his birthplace of
Rockville, Md. He started on the back nine and birdied four of
his first six holes.
"There's been a lot of buildup to today's first round and I was
just excited to kind of get out here and get on the course in
the morning," McCarthy said. "It's probably, there's a little
stress and tension leading up, but once I get on the golf course
I feel really comfortable."
A large group tied for eighth at 4-under 66 included Rickie
Fowler. The longtime fan favorite has fallen to No. 146 in the
world and hasn't had a top-40 finish in his last eight starts,
with five missed cuts in that span.
Fowler's highlight shot came at the short par-4 14th hole,
measuring just 305 yards. Fowler's drive settled inside 11 feet
of the pin and he made the putt for eagle.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who won the 2021 Wells Fargo
at Quail Hollow, shot a 3-under 67. So did Spain's Sergio
Garcia, who holed out for eagle at No. 15.
But Garcia was caught on a television feed telling a PGA Tour
rules official that he "can't wait to leave this tour." Garcia's
agent later confirmed that he applied for a release for the
first event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
--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. |
|
