Palmer shoots 62 at Colonial

FORT WORTH - Ryan Palmer was standing in the fairway on his last hole Thursday when his longtime caddie and fellow Colonial member issued a challenge.

James Edmondson, who won his third Colonial club championship last year, told Palmer that a birdie would match the caddie’s low round at Hogan’s Alley.

“What do you do when you get that thrown at you,” Palmer said.

Palmer hit his approach to 5 feet at the 388-yard ninth hole for an 8-under-par 62 that matched the lowest PGA Tour first round at Colonial. That put him a stroke ahead of John Rollins, who had his best round this season.

For all the rounds Palmer has played at Colonial, where he has been a full dues-paying member since 2010, he had never had such a low score. He generally plays there two or three times a week during the off season and once or twice during weeks he’s not playing the PGA Tour.

“These old men here make me grind because I have to give them so many shots. Maybe that helps,” Palmer said, smiling. “Usually in a practice round, I don’t think I’ve shot below 65. You just don’t grind a lot. In this situation, you grind a little harder. You are able to focus more. When I’m out here with the guys, I mean half the time I might grab a few [beers] for the back nine.”

Graham DeLaet, wearing pants with a plaid design similar to the jacket Colonial winners get, matched Morgan Hoffmann, David Hearn and John Peterson at 64. Matt Kuchar, No. 13 in the world ranking and the highest-ranked player in the 136-man invitational field, was in a group of six players at 65.

Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had six birdies and two bogeys for a 4-under 66. Bryce Molder (Conway) had three birdies for a 3-under 67. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) had two birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey for a 2-over 72 for the day.

David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) had two birdies and four bogeys for a 2-over 72. Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) had three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey for a 3-over 73. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) had only one birdie and six bogeys for a 5-over 75.

Rollins, who like Palmer lives in nearby Colleyville, has playing privileges at Colonial like other PGA Tour players though he doesn’t play the 7,204-yard layout nearly as much as Palmer.

Palmer, the former Texas A&M player who has three PGA Tour victories, had a bogey-free round, hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, with his first birdie putt being his longest.

CHAMPIONS TOUR Haas, Waldorf tied at 66

ST. LOUIS - Jay Haas and Duffy Waldorf were tied Thursday, each with a 5-under 66, in the first round of the 74th Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive Golf Club.

Haas and Waldorf were one shot ahead of Kiyoshi Murota and Sonny Skinner. Peter Senior and Chien-Soon Lu each had a 3-under 68 to tie for fifth.

EUROPEAN PGA TOUR

Kingston leads BMW

VIRGINIA WATER, England - South Africa’s James Kingston shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday at Wentworth to take the lead during the suspended first round of the BMW PGA Championship.

Afternoon play was delayed for about 90 minutes because of the threat of lightning, and five groups were still on the course when the round was suspended for the day because of darkness.

Finland’s Mikko Ilonen opened with a 67, and Scotland’s Scott Henry and Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano shot 68. Austria’s Martin Wiegele also was 4 under with five holes left.

Sergio Garcia, the Spanish player whose verbal sparring with Tiger Woods turned ugly this week, opened with a 72.

WEB.COM TOUR Weather halts play

Michael Putnam was in the lead Thursday in the Mexico Championship at El Bosque GC at Leon, Mexico, with an 8-under 64 when the first round was suspended because of the weather.

Ron Whittaker (Little Rock) had four birdies and two bogeys for a 61 through the 16th hole before play was halted.

Leaderboard

PGA TOUR CROWNE PLAZE INVITATIONAL At Colonial Country Club (Par 70, 7,204 yards), Fort Worth Purse: $6.4 million First of four rounds a-denotes amateur Ryan Palmer..........................31-31-62 John Rollins ..........................32-31-63

ARKANSANS Ken Duke ...............................33-33-66 Bryce Molder .........................33-34-67 John Daly ..............................37-35-72 David Lingmerth ...................33-39-72 Tag Ridings ...........................38-35-73 Scott Gardiner .......................37-38-75 Scores, 7C

Sports, Pages 24 on 05/24/2013

Upcoming Events