Plenty of low scores, highlighted by Spieth’s 63, as Nelson makes Craig Ranch debut
Bryson DeChambeau needed only five words to sum up his first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson.
“That I played really bad,” DeChambeau said.
What’s really bad for the reigning U.S. Open champion? A 3-under 69.
Yes, playing conditions were that favorable during the debut of TPC Craig Ranch as a PGA Tour site.
The morning wave saw J.J. Spaun post a tournament-leading 9-under 63. Then North Texas native and favorite Jordan Spieth posted the second 63 on the day in the afternoon. Both are tied for the lead after Day 1.
“I was pretty nervous on the first tee and getting started,” said Spieth, who was making his first start since the Masters and a bout with COVID. “To make the birdie there [on No. 1] was kind of cool. It’s almost like the nerves that you feel first shot at a major, Ryder Cup, and just to make a birdie just calmly, it gave me a lot of confidence to start out today.”
Four players were in with 8-under 64s in Aaron Wise, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Doc Redman and Joseph Bramlett. There were 12 players in at 7-under including former Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Charl Schwartzel.
When the morning rounds had concluded, only seven players carded over-par scores. By the end of the day, that number grew to only 12 in the 156-player field.
“It’s a generous golf course,” said Luke Donald, a former No. 1-ranked player in the world who was among those at 7-under. “Gives you some width off the tee. Greens are holding.”
Added TCU product and Fort Worth resident Tom Hoge, who shot a 4-under 68: “The course’s only real defense is its length. It’s a very long course, tee to green, but it’s very wide. When the wind is not really blowing at all like it was today, you’re not going to be in very much trouble. The greens are perfect right now, too, so you have a lot of scoring opportunities.
“It’s going to take a lot of birdies this week, so you’ve just got to keep the gas pedal down.”
Seeing low numbers on the first day didn’t come as much of a surprise. Playing conditions were ideal following heavy rainfall earlier this week. And, entering the tournament, most players felt it was a course that could produce plenty of birdie opportunities.
PGA Tour veteran J.J. Henry called TPC Craig Ranch “a big ballpark.”
“It’s not the hardest golf course in the world,” said Henry, who shot a 2-under 70 on Thursday.
That showed throughout the opening round.
Spieth opened with five birdies on his first nine holes and then closed his bogey-less round with an eagle on the par-5 18th, draining a 55-foot putt.
“It broke left to right at the beginning and the rest of it was straight,” Spieth said. “I’m just trying to get to tap-in and cap off a good day, and I kind of started leaning because I thought it was going to miss left and it just kind of fell in the left side of the hole.
“The roar was pretty electric. It’s just fun. It’s just awesome feeling the support.”
Spaun also had no bogeys on the day.
If Round 1 is any indication, more low numbers are coming over the next three days.
When TPC Craig Ranch hosted the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2008, the winning score was 17 under by Matt Bettencourt. When it hosted the same event in 2012, Justin Bolli won with a score of 16 under.
This year’s winning score with the PGA Tour players could be even lower in the 20-plus under range.
“I feel like there are more easy holes than hard holes, so you kind of just got to stay in the moment,” Spaun said. “You have to try to attack when you can.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2021 at 4:00 PM.
