GREENSBORO, N.C. – Beau Hossler used a sizzling starting stretch on his way to a 10-under-par 60 in the weather-delayed first round of the Wyndham Championship on Friday.
Hossler’s bid for a sub-60 score was denied when he had pars on the final three holes at water-logged Sedgefield Country Club.
“Probably the highlight of the round was just mid-irons,” Hossler said. “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.”
Hossler holds a two-stroke lead on Billy Horschel, who is at 8 under with two holes still to finish Saturday to complete his first round. The opening-round was moved to Friday because of rain and then postponed by darkness with a number of competitors still on the course.
Canada’s Nick Taylor, through 14 holes, is at 7 under and alone in third place. Taylor had birdies on four of his last five holes before play was halted.
Heavy rains and local flooding stemmed from remnants of Hurricane Debby. Friday’s start was pushed back three hours as course maintenance crews worked to get the grounds ready for play.
Several dozen golfers will need to finish the first round Saturday and then go directly into the second round.
Hossler played the first eight holes in 7 under, boosted by a tap-in eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. He posted a personal-best 28 on the front side.
He birdied No. 10 and was on pace for an epic round before a bogey 5 at No. 11. A birdie followed at No. 12, needing only about a 1-foot putt after his tee shot on the par-3 hole, put him right back on track.
Hossler’s tee shot at No. 18 was in the left rough, reducing his chances of a birdie.
“There was just no way I’d be able to get it on that shelf to have a real look,” he said.
Hossler, 29, has never won in 197 previous events since joining the PGA Tour in 2018.
Matt Kuchar, who was playing in the group in front of Hossler, Brendon Todd, Austin Eckroat and England’s Ben Taylor all finished at 6-under 64 to tie for fourth place.
Kuchar had four straight birdies (Nos. 14-17) for a late-round push of 5-under 30 on the back nine.
“Playing lift, clean and place means I get to kind of cherry pick a lie, hit some good shots, saw a few putts go in,” Kuchar said.
The tournament is the final stop on the PGA Tour’s regular season. It’s the last chance for golfers to move into the top 70 spots to qualify for the FedExCup playoffs, which begin next week.
Harris English withdrew Friday because of a back injury. Kevin Tway took his spot in the field.
— Bob Sutton, Field Level Media