Not every day does a player card a round of 60 strokes in a PGA Tour tournament. David Skinns (-12) achieved this on Thursday in the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship, the second event of the autumn schedule of the American circuit, and although it helped him take the solo lead and set a new personal and course record, it ended up being a ‘bittersweet’ result for the English golfer.
Curiously, he finished his round disappointed after making six birdies in his first nine holes and another six in the last nine. His disappointment was related to his penultimate shot of the day, a three-metre birdie putt that he missed on the low side. “How many three-metre putts are you going to have in your career to make a round of 59?” asked the 42-year-old veteran player, who leads the standings by three over Michael Thorbjornsen (-9).
From 9 feet for a 59 …. 😩@SkinnsyGolf | @Sanderson_Champ pic.twitter.com/PY0EvicwW5
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 3, 2024
“I’m sure there won’t be many… It’s hard not to be a little disappointed, but I want to remember how good I felt mentally and how I kept attacking the flags. I wasn’t thinking about the future at all, just about what I achieved today,” he explained. And by the future, he refers to the boost he could get if he continues like this week in the FedEx standings, where he started the week in 108th place and, if he wins, could move close to the top 60.
Let’s remember that the top 125 after this FedEx Cup Fall retain full playing rights for 2025, so David is on the right track. A spectacular result to start the tournament… and that’s despite hitting only five of 14 fairways! “It was great to see a couple of shots go in that don’t go in on other days. I catapulted myself and was able to maintain the momentum, that’s what I liked the most. I didn’t think too much about the result, just about where I was going to hit the next shot,” he concluded.
Mackenzie Hughes (-7) and Patton Kizzire (-7), who won the first autumn event of the FedEx at the Procore Championship, were in the group of players who finished with 67 strokes. Hughes won the Sanderson Farms Championship two years ago, when he was left out of the Presidents Cup team. This year he plays a week after his debut in the tournament, in Canada. If he remains among the top 60 in the overall standings, he will secure a place in next year’s designated events.
In-round insight from @RickieFowler during Thursday's opening round @Sanderson_Champ 🎤 pic.twitter.com/bMJVGllkLP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 3, 2024
Thorbjornsen, second alone ahead of Gary Woodland (-8) and Ben Griffin (-8), finished number one in the collegiate ranking of the PGA Tour, which means the Stanford graduate already has a full card for next year. He secured a second place this summer at the John Deere Classic and now has a full autumn event schedule ahead to continue growing.
Finally, Rickie Fowler (-3), who played in the afternoon session and returned to competition after almost three months dedicated to his family following the birth of his second child, knows he has another year of exemption secured after his victory in last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. Despite his lukewarm start, with a round of 69 strokes at a Country Club of Jackson that allows birdies on every corner, he hopes to continue improving to climb from the 110th place he currently occupies in the overall standings.
