Apr 20, 2018: For the third time in five weeks, the PGA TOUR is in Texas. That generally means lots of wind. Tricky winds – the kind that tested the field Thursday at the Valero Texas Open.
Indian stars Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma had a rough start under windy conditions. Anirban had to suffer three bogies and a double bogey against a lone birdie in his card of four-over 76. Shubhankar also experienced an unpleasant day with a triple bogey at the very first hole. He added another four bogies and three birdies to end the first round with a 76.
Grayson Murray handled it the best, shooting a 5-under 67 to take the first-round lead at TPC San Antonio. It’s a bit of a surprise, considering three days ago he contemplated walking off the range because it was so windy.
“Just going to make me frustrated,” he told himself.
But he worked through it, stayed on the range — and something started to click. His payoff was seven birdies, a terrific result in tough conditions.
“That’s probably why I played well today, just because that gave me confidence that I’m now compressing the ball,” Murray said of his Monday practice. “If you don’t compress the ball, if you start coming out of it, start hitting these short weak right shots, the ball’s going to do whatever it wants to do in the air.”
So just how was the wind Thursday? Let Keith Mitchell, making his first career start at TPC San Antonio, explain:
“The wind blows 5 mph. Then it blows 20. Then it was from the northeast. Then it blows from the east-northeast. It’s not consistent out there. It’s so hard to pick a club from the fairway,” Mitchell said. He did just fine, though – a 2-under 70 that has him tied for 12th.
Chesson Hadley shot a 68 that puts him in a five-way tie for ninth. One of his five birdies was at the par-4 ninth, the second toughest hole on the course, yielding just 12 birdies to the field. The 68 isn’t his lowest round of the season, but it might’ve been his most impressive.
“Yeah, that could have been maybe the best round I played this year just from how hard it was and how difficult the course is,” Hadley said.
Billy Horschel knows a thing or two about winning in Texas – he won last year in Dallas at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He also has three top-5 finishes in his last five starts in San Antonio. He may be headed for another good finish after his 68.
“People ask me how you do it,” Horschel said about playing in the wind. “You keep the ball down … but if you don’t hit it solid, the wind’s going to take over. So always been a good wind player. I think it’s because I’ve always been a good ball-striker and hit it solid.”
The wind will remain a factor the rest of the week, particularly in Sunday’s final round when gusts are expected to reach 30 mph. Patience will be tested.
“I’m a lot more comfortable in the wind,” said Murray, who broke through last year with a win at the Barbasol Championship. “I’m starting to stripe it a lot better, which my ball doesn’t really get affected in this type of wind.”
That was certainly the case Thursday.
PGA Tour Release
