LA QUINTA, Calif. - Patrick Reed went low in perfect scoring and weather conditions Thursday at the Humana Challenge. He wasn’t alone.
Reed ran off five consecutive birdies in the middle of his round on PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course and finished with a bogey-free 9-under 63 to tie his career low.
“The course is in perfect shape,” said Reed, the Wyndham Championship winner in August. “The rough isn’t very high, the fairways are perfect and the greens are rolling very true. That’s the main thing to being successful out here is with how great the conditions are, that if you’re hitting putts on line, they’re going to go in, no matter what.”
Ryan Palmer, Justin Hicks, Daniel Summerhays and Charley Hoffman shot 64.
Reed started on the back nine and birdied Nos. 16-18 and 1-2 to get to 7-under. He added birdies on Nos. 6 and 7.
Palmer birdied his final six holes and nine of his last 12 on the Palmer course, the site of the final round Sunday.
Hicks had an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey on the Jack Nicklaus Private Course.
Summerhays birdied seven of his last 10 on the Nicklaus course. Hoffman, the 2007 winner, had an eagle and six birdies at La Quinta Country Club.
With a high temperature in the mid-80s and only a gentle morning breeze off the Santa Rosa Mountains, the players averaged 69.692 on the Palmer course, 69.431 on the Nicklaus layout, and 70.192 at La Quinta.
Kapalua winner Zach Johnson topped the group at La Quinta with a 65.
Johnson won the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua two weeks ago for his 11th PGA Tour victory. The top-ranked player in the field at No. 6, Johnson has three worldwide victories in his last seven starts. He began the run in the BMW Championship outside Chicago in September, and beat Woods in a playoff in December in the World Challenge.
Keegan Bradley opened with a 69 at La Quinta in his first start of the year. He’s fighting a cold and struggled with his distance control and accuracy.
Defending champion Brian Gay also had a 69 at La Quinta.
Bryce Molder (Conway) had five birdies and two bogeys for a 3-under 69. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) had four birdies and a bogey for a 69.
Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had four birdies and three bogeys for a 1-under 71. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) had five birdies and four bogeys for a 71.
John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks) had four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey for an even-par round of 72.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Driver fails Mickelson
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Phil Mickelson didn’t have much success with his new driver in the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, failing to make a single birdie in a 1-over 73 to sit six shots behind the leaders.
Mickelson made 17 consecutive pars in his first round of the year before a bogey on his last hole, joining a number of big names who struggled on the opening day.
“I can’t recall the lasttime I had a round without a birdie,” Mickelson said. “But didn’t make a bogey there until the last.”
Matthew Baldwin of England was tied for the lead with Romain Wattel of France and Rafa Cabrera-Bello after a 67. Seven players, including European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, were one shot behind.
Mickelson’s playing partner Rory McIlroy carded a 70, while Henrik Stenson had four bogeys in a 74 and Sergio Garcia complained about the rough being “dangerous” after a 76.
Mickelson said before the event that he was driving better than ever after getting a new driver from Callaway Golf that he said could turn one of his weaknesses into a strength.
However, he only hit five of 14 fairways on the Peter Harradine-designed course.
“This first round, I was a little tentative, played a little cautious, didn’t trust my swing too much,” Mickelson said. “I haven’t been out in competition for a while but then it was good to get my feet wet.”
McIlroy was upbeat after showing signs of the same form he displayed at the end of the 2013 season, which earned him the victory in last month’s Australian Open in Sydney.
“I feel the benefit of ending last year well and then starting off this year with a lot of hard work, it’s sort of showed off,” McIlroy said. “Today was my first competitive round since the start of December, and I drove the ball as well as I have done in a long time.”
Martin Kaymer, a threetime winner in Abu Dhabi had a costly double bogey on the 14th and also finished with a 70.
Sports, Pages 27 on 01/17/2014