Players Brave Rain

Ryan Hardin of Fayetteville checks his lie on the 10th green with his putter balanced upon his head Friday, July 26, 2013, during tournament play at Fayetteville Country Club.
Ryan Hardin of Fayetteville checks his lie on the 10th green with his putter balanced upon his head Friday, July 26, 2013, during tournament play at Fayetteville Country Club.

Steady rain and sloppy conditions might have affected some of the results at the Fayetteville Country Club 4-Ball Invitational on Friday. But the wet weather wasn’t enough to halt play, as the tournament fought through the tough conditions to complete the first round in its entirety.

“We were lucky,” Fayetteville Country Club head golf professional Bill Agler said. “The course held up really well.”

The three-day tournament began under a match play format Friday. Under 4-ball competition, teams of two players each squared off against one another in the opening round. The 4-Ball Invitational, which features 256 total players and has grown into the largest tournament at Fayetteville Country Club, will again play under match play rules today before switching to stroke play in Sunday’s final rounds.

Chris Collins and Steven Dixon made plenty of noise — and plenty of birdies — early in their round to show why they are considered a team to beat in the Championship Flight. With seven birdies on their first seven holes, Collins and Dixon built a commanding 7-up lead, en route to an 8 and 7 win over Hunter Deweese and Ryan Bryant in the first round.

“This is difficult because you’re trying to keep everything dry, hands dry, towels, dry and clubs dry,” Collins said. “So it was difficult but everybody had to play in it.”

Collins and Dixon teamed up in another 4-Ball tournament last week, playing in the Red Hudson Tribute Invitational at Pinnacle Country Club. But despite receiving the No. 1 overall seed in that tournament, they dropped a 6 and 5 match in the semifinals to fall short of the championship.

“We made a lot of birdies today and were able to finish our match early and get out of here,” Collins said. “We were very disappointed with our finish last week at the Tribute, so we’re pretty motivated this week.”

Michael Chaney and Brett Grenata, defending champions of the FCC 4-Ball, suffered a loss in Friday’s first round to Jeff Campbell and Luke-Pruett. Chaney and Grenata will now face Stephen Parker and Adam Wing in a consolation match today, hoping to avoid elimination from the tournament.

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