– There are two gentlemen who decided to play something else this Thursday in the first round of the Cognizant Classic at Palm Beaches. Their names are Austin Smotherman (-9) and Nico Echavarría (-8). The former played darts and the latter soared over the greens of the PGA National. They made 17 birdies between them without errors. Both, it is true, took advantage of playing in the morning, with infinitely better conditions.
In any case, anyone would say that the American and the Colombian played a different course. After all, third place is at -4 with six players tied. When Smotherman and Echavarría finished, who played very early, more than one nostalgic criticised the course preparation. The criticism is directed at the ryegrass overseeding done on the Bermuda, making the course easier from the rough. It used to be very penalising and now it’s more manageable.
– In any case, the reality is that only those two have made such a low round and that the afternoon, once the wind picked up, a classic in these parts of Palm Beach, became much more complicated. In fact, the best round was by Kristoffer Reitan (-4), who practically performed a miracle. Not only because of the score, also matched by Kevin Roy and Daniel Berger, but because he didn’t commit any bogeys. Almost a feat considering the conditions. Moreover, he left himself a very clear chance on the 18th to have finished even one stroke better.
– The Bear Trap, that sequence from holes 15 to 17 at PGA National, was extremely tough in the last matches, with gusts exceeding 40 kilometres per hour. Just ask Brooks Koepka (+3). He reached that point with the round more or less under control, at par, with two birdies and two bogeys, and came out of there in tatters. He made a bogey on the 16th, missing a one-and-a-half-metre putt, and a double bogey on the 17th after a terrible approach from the back of the green that ended in the water. Beyond his harsh reunion with the Bear, you know there’s a statue of a Golden Bear in tribute to Jack Nicklaus, the course designer, next to the 15th tee, the reality is that Koepka struggled again with the putter. He lost more than two strokes compared to the average in this area and looked desperate. We’ll see if he has the patience to stick with the change from blade to mallet.
– The Europeans shone again at PGA National, something quite common. In addition to Reitan, there’s the Swede Pontus Nyholm (-4), Aaron Rai (-3), Adrien Saddier (-2), Matti Schmid (-3), Rasmus Hoijgaard (-2) or Dan Brown (-2).
