Ryan Palmer With Clubhouse Lead At The Phoenix Open

By Les Bailey | Jan 30, 2015

Aug 29, 2014; Norton, MA, USA; Ryan Palmer watches his tee shot go right on the 7th hole during the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship golf tournament at TPC of Boston. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

On a day that saw record-setting crowds at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 38 year old Ryan Palmer was among those that were able to finish the first round, and got in the clubhouse with a one-shot lead. Play was suspended for darkness with several players on the course and will finish up Friday morning, weather permitting.

Ryan Palmer carded a bogey-free seven under par 64 on Thursday afternoon at the newly redesigned TPC Scottsdale golf course just North of Phoenix, and has a one-shot lead over three players including rookie Daniel Berger, who was playing well, and had completed 16 holes before the horn blew to stop play.

More from Golf News

The other two players at six under par include, two-time Masters Champ, Bubba Watson, and 2011 PGA Champ, Keegan Bradley. Zach Johnson is in a group one more back at five under par.

Ryan Palmer made most of his headway on the back nine(he started at number 10), with birdies at 12, 16, and 17, and with an eagle at the par five 13, making the turn at five under par.

The Texas A&M grad, made a pair of birdies on the front nine, but finished with six consecutive pars. Palmer hit 10 of 14 fairways, and hit 15 greens in regulation on his day.

"“It was a fun day,” he said. “It was awesome. I hit it great. Drove well, hit my irons solid, kept it in the middle of the green when I needed to, made some good putts on 2 and 3.”"

The Waste Management Phoenix Open set a record attendance for a Thursday with 118,461 fans on hand, and beating the previous totals by 30,000 people. The crowd was there for one reason, and that was the marquee pairing of Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, and Patrick Reed. The threesome garnered most of the Television coverage from the Golf Channel.

The crowd at the 16th hole looked almost like a Saturday or Sunday at the PGA Tour’s most raucous event. There was a huge crowd at the entrance to the stadium, and all the seats inside the stadium hole were standing room only.

The crowds booed Tiger as he had to back-away from his tee shot a couple of times before hitting. Both Reed, and Spieth birdied the infamous par three, and Tiger made a knee-knocker to save par as Patrick Reed held up his infamous hush finger as he putted. Tiger Woods couldn’t get out of the stadium fast enough.

With the projected cut at even par, all three in the group will need to play well on Friday if they want to be here for the weekend. Jordan Spieth made a couple of late birdies, and posted a one-under score, with Patrick Reed finishing at even par.

Tiger fought back from a five over performance on the front nine where he couldn’t find a fairway with a guide-dog. Fans following the group were finally rewarded at the 13th hole, when Tiger hit a perfect drive, and made a tap-in eagle.

Tiger Woods will need to bring his A-Game on Friday if he intends to make the cut.

I expected some rust on both, Tiger and Jordan’s games, but I was surprised that Patrick Reed struggled. After a win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, and a fair defense of his Humana Challenge, I thought he should have played a little better.

My pick to win it all this week, is Bubba Watson. Bubba made his only bogey of the day at the second hole, and got it all back with a follow-up eagle at two. Watson missed a couple of scoring opportunities with a shaky putter, but got in the clubhouse with five birdies on the back.

He drove the 17th green, as Tiger and company watched from a safe distance. Bubba hit it six feet past the par four hole, but missed the putt. He made birdie, and finished one back.

They are expecting some weather, possibly rain, on Friday, so it could take some patience for all the players to get it in. The rain is expected to move out, and leave a great weekend for players making the cut, to finish this thing up!

Next: Tiger Woods Looks Lost In Phoenix