PGA Tour rookie Carson Young of the United States eagled three of the four par-5 holes (Nos. 2, 5, 15) for a 9-under 63 to take the first-round lead for the second time in two weeks.
He is the third player on Tour this season to record three eagles in a single round, joining Kevin Yu (Butterfield Bermuda Championship/R1) and Davis Thompson (R2/The American Express).
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“I feel like I played solid today. I drove it pretty well and I made a lot of putts, especially early. I feel like that’s been the thing for me for this whole season. I haven’t really putted all that well, but I’ve hit it decent enough to score well. So it was nice to finally make some putts today, especially early to get 4 or 5 under through four or five holes was nice, especially in this wind. Couldn’t ask for a better round today so I’m pleased with that.
“I had a lot of positives from [last] week, especially having the lead after the first round and a little bit through the second round. Then I saw some good strides with my putting and my ball-striking, so it was cool to get in that scenario to where I was in the lead and in contention for a little bit.
“I felt good coming into this week and just knew I had to stay patient out there, it’s very windy out there, and just play good golf, and worked out great for me today.”
Young has made three cuts in twelve starts and last week’s T29 finish was his best so far.
Defending champion Max McGreevy, coming off seven consecutive missed cuts, and fellow American Akshay Bhatia carded bogey-free 66s to share second place at 6-under.
“Luckily, just coming back to a place that I like and played well at last year for some reason just kind of freed me up and let me click a little bit more today. My results haven’t been great this year, but the game’s felt good and it’s been in the right direction, so it’s good to see this actually happening,” said McGreevy.
Bill Haas of the US birdied his final four holes for a share of fourth place at 5-under alongside compatriot Scott Piercy, Colombia‘s Nico Echavarria and Argentina‘s Augusto Núñez.
Puerto Rico native Rafael Campos (T28) posted a 70 in his 14th Puerto Rico Open start, he seeks a fourth top-10 finish in the event (2016/T8, 2017/T10, 2021/T3).
