Beau Hossler opened birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle to record a career-low 28 on the front nine of the Wyndham Championship and closed with a two-shot lead at 10-under. He posted the sixth score of 60 or better this season, the 49th 60 on record (1983-present) and the fourth this season on the PGA Tour following Nick Dunlap/The American Express/R3/won, Wyndham Clark/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am/R3/won, Nick Taylor/WM Phoenix Open/R1/won.
Hosser’s previous lowest round was 62 twice and most recently in the first round of the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open.
“This golf course is, if you drive the ball in the fairway, it’s very scorable,” said the American. “But playing this course from the rough, and then there’s five or six like particularly daunting tee shots for me, blind and kind of got to curve it a little bit. In the past they’ve given me a bit of trouble, today I drove it beautifully. Certainly from this golf course it’s not particularly long, so from in the fairway you can make some birdies.
“I played really nicely. I drove it well and particularly probably the highlight of the round was just mid irons. A few 6 irons I hit really close, 5-iron I almost made a hole-in-one. It was one of those days where it felt like kind of everything went right.
“[In] the last month I’ve switched iron shots back into what I was using kind of years ago and it seems like my iron play’s gotten better, a lot less curve on the ball, the bottom feels a little more stable. I’ve been working on some keys in my swing. I’ve been hitting it really nicely for the last two tournaments even though I missed both the cuts. I didn’t putt great, I made some bad errors on course management. Today I played nicely, I hit it beautifully and thought my way around the course pretty well.”
The first round was postponed to Friday due to Tropical Storm Debby, with heavy rains, flooding and windy conditions. It was then suspended due to darkness at 8:12 p.m. with 66 players yet to finish the round. Those players will be back in position at 7 a.m. Saturday. Preferred lies are in effect for the first round.
American Billy Horschel holed out for eagle from 143 yards at the 2nd and lies in second place at 8-under through 16.
Canada’s Nick Taylor currently lies in third place at 7-under through 14.
Matt Kuchar posted a 6-under 64 and needs a win to extend his streak as the only player to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs in each season since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007. He lies in a share of fourth place alongside fellow Americans Brendon Todd and Austin Ecksroat as well as England’s Ben Taylor.
The Wyndham Championship is the final event of the FedExCup Regular Season, with the top 70 in the standings qualifying for next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship (the first FedExCup Playoffs event). Players currently projected to move into the top 70 in the FedExCup standings: Beau Hossler (No. 87/projected No. 51). Players currently projected to fall out of the top 70 in the FedExCup standings: Emiliano Grillo (No. 67/projected No. 71).
The Wyndham Championship serves as the final opportunity for players to secure their spot inside the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10, which rewards season-long performance for the top 10 players in the FedExCup standings at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season; the group will share a $40 million bonus, with the No. 1-ranked played earning $8 million.
Two players in the field, Sungjae Im (No. 9) and Shane Lowry (No. 10), are looking to solidify their position in the top 10; Im opened with a 68 (projected No. 9), while Lowry carded a 70 (projected No. 10).
Four players can play their way into the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10: Akshay Bhatia (1-under 69) needs at least a solo-second or better to have a chance to move in, while Robert MacIntyre (-1 thru 15), Brian Harman (-1 thru 16) and
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (even-par 70) need a win to have a chance to move in.
Related: Lydia Ko joins Morgane Metraux in lead ahead of final day in Paris
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