Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin share the clubhouse lead as play was suspended having shot 5-under 66s at the WM Phoenix Open. Should the lead hold up, it would be the first time two Canadians shared it after any round on the PGA Tour.
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Par@NTaylorGolf59's back-nine grabs him a share of the lead @WMPhoenixOpen 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RBY62UtnXd— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 9, 2023
The start of play was delayed due to frost for one hour and 50 minutes. It was suspended due to darkness at 6:07 p.m., with the entire afternoon wave yet to complete their round. The first round will resume at 7:45 a.m. Friday.
Nick Taylor birdied six of his final nine holes for a 66, his best of just four rounds in the 60s in nine starts in this event. His round featured an eagle on the par-5 3rd and a 6-under 30 on the back nine.
“I don’t see a whole lot of northeast wind here,” said Taylor, who lives in the area and often practices at TPC Scottsdale. “It’s definitely the tougher of the winds, especially coming down the stretch. All those holes are playing a lot longer than typical. I’ve seen a lot of wind conditions, but this was one of the toughest stretches I’ve played out here.”
“You had to be a lot more patient than you normally do around this place,” said Hadwin, also a local resident. “You couldn’t really chase birdies like we typically do out here.
“I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to 6-under because I saw Nick up there, and I wanted to hold it over him tonight,” he added.
Ridiculous touch 😲@XSchauffele goes around the tree and onto the green. pic.twitter.com/Ffz5yIQDp1
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 9, 2023
Americans Xander Schauffele and Jim Herman are tied in third place at 4-under alongside Australian Jason Day. Herman still has five holes to play to complete his round.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler lies in a share of 19th place at 1-under through eleven holes. A win on Sunday would make him the first repeat winner of the WM Phoenix Open since Hideki Matsuyama (2017).
Rory McIlroy’s streak of eleven straight par-or-better opening-round scores on the Tour comes to an end with a 2-over 73.
