American Tom Hoge on Thursday rolled in a 46-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to cap an eight-under-par 64 and take a one-shot clubhouse lead in the weather-delayed first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Hoge — coming off a final-round 65 at the Greenbrier last week — was one stroke in front of Australian Cameron Percy, Ireland’s Seamus Power and American Robert Streb, who all made it into the clubhouse at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi on 65.
The round was suspended at 2:46pm as storms rolled through. Just more than three hours later, officials called things off for the day with dozens of players yet to complete the round.
Power teed off on 10 and played his first six holes in six-under-par, with three straight birdies to open, an eagle at the par-five 14th and a birdie at 15.
He bounced back from bogeys at the 16th and 18th with three more birdies coming in, including a 12-footer at his final hole, the ninth.
Percy bookended his round with three straight birdies to open and two to finish.
Hoge, Percy and Power are all seeking a first PGA Tour title.
Meanwhile, two-time major winner Zach Johnson is hoping to use the second event of the 2019-2020 season to get his game back on track after a “frustrating” 2018-2019 campaign.
He headed a group on five-under 67 that also included Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and Americans Zac Blair and Mark Anderson.
South Korea’s An Byeong-hun was five-under through 11 holes when play was halted and J.T. Poston was five-under through eight.
“I’m trying to treat each week as a phenomenal opportunity to get better,” said Johnson, who has not posted a top-10 finish since a seventh place at the RSM Classic in November last year. “I’m trying to improve, rather than getting caught up in results or assessing aspects of my game.”
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