Nicholas Thompson took advantage of heavy overnight rain to shoot an 8-under-par 64 and take the lead at the 84 Lumber Classic on Thursday, while Michelle Wie struggled against the men again, shooting a 77.
Thompson, a qualifying school graduate last year who is 181st on the US tour money list, capitalized on an early starting time to record the tournament's lowest round since Vijay Singh's opening-round 64 in 2004 and claim a two-stroke lead.
While there were numerous scores in the 60s, Wie appeared headed to miss the cut in a US PGA Tour event for a sixth straight time.
Thompson hopes to follow Singh and last year's champion Jason Gore by turning at least a share of the first-round lead into a title.
"Had it not rained and the scores had been this low, I would have been surprised," Thompson said. "Due to the rain, it softened up the greens" and allowed golfers to aggressively go for greens they knew would hold their approach shots.
Thompson, a former US Walker Cup team member, had a two-shot lead over a crowded group of six at 66 that included Rory Sabbatini and Reno-Tahoe champion Will MacKenzie. Six more were at 67.
Sabbatini, a speedy player, was paired with Ben Crane for the first time since becoming so upset with Crane's overly deliberate play in last year Booz Allen Classic that he intentionally played out of order to show his unhappiness. Crane had a 73.
Wie also played relatively slowly. She started with three consecutive pars after starting at No. 10. But her round began getting away when she missed a short par putt on the par-4 13th, starting a stretch of three consecutive bogeys that was aided by a drive she pulled into a gully far left of the fairway on the par-4 15th.
Playing in the last group of the day, she never had a chance after that despite being repeatedly encouraged by a gallery that appeared to include most of the spectators on the course. Her best chance for the birdie she never got came on the par-4 No. 4, but she missed a 6-footer.
RSS