South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul grabbed the clubhouse lead with an 11-under par 60 in Thursday’s opening spherical of the PGA Byron Nelson match, matching the occasion’s 18-hole report.
And he did it regardless of struggling a damaged driver head on the twelfth gap in his bogey-free spherical at TPC Craig Ranch in suburban Dallas.
“Everything was going amazing,” Noh mentioned. “Off the tee, missed two drivers because of the crack of the driver head. Except for two shots off the tee, everything going perfectly.
“I’m happy for my career low on the PGA Tour. One shot missed to 59, but I’m really happy with that.”
Noh, the 2010 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, captured his solely PGA title on the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, three years earlier than it shifted to its present pairs format.
He had a three-shot lead over Australian Adam Scott and Chian’s Dou Zecheng.
Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, posted his greatest opening spherical on the PGA Tour since a 62 on the 2014 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
World quantity two Scottie Scheffler headlined a gaggle on 64 that additionally included Aussie veteran Jason Day and Americans Luke List, Richy Werenski, Scott Piercy and Ryan Palmer.
Noh’s bogey-free spherical matched the Byron Nelson report shared by 4 different gamers and most just lately achieved beforehand by Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz in final yr’s opening spherical.
The most up-to-date prior 60 on tour was by American Patrick Cantlay within the third spherical of final October’s Shriners Children’s Open.
After a birdie on the eleventh gap, Noh smashed his tee shot effectively to the precise of a cart path on the par-4 twelfth, Noh checked his driver head.
“When I hit on 12, I’m swinging so nicely, but keep like 70 yards going right,” Noh mentioned. “So I just look at the driver and it got the crack in it.”
He salvaged par after dropping his strategy inside 4 ft of the outlet, however guidelines officers mentioned with only a crack he couldn’t exchange the driving force.
Noh despatched his subsequent tee shot means left of the thirteenth fairway after which took the membership out of play earlier than saving par once more with a six-foot putt earlier than acquiring a substitute driver head.
“I’m hitting one more driver on 13, and then finally it’s gone, my driver head,” Noh mentioned. “That’s why after the 13th we got the replacement.”
Lucky par
Noh, who mentioned he had by no means suffered a cracked driver head earlier than, went with a driver over a 3-wood at 13 regardless of the crack.
“I’m just trying to hit driver,” he mentioned. “It’s just going like 50 yards left, but I still make the par, so I’m lucky with that.”
After birdies on the par-4 14th and par-3 fifteenth, Noh screwed a brand new driver head into place on the sixteenth gap, a restore allowed below golf guidelines.
Noh made a 27-foot par putt on the sixteenth, then sank a 34-foot birdie on the par-3 seventeenth and a nine-foot birdie on the par-5 18th.
The 31-year-old opened with back-to-back birdies did it once more on the fifth and sixth holes and closed the entrance 9 with an eagle on the par-5 ninth, reaching the inexperienced in two and sinking an eight-foot eagle putt.