Shriners Hospitals: A Quick Look at the Opening Round

Round One of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is in the books.

The second round is already underway, and we have another full day of golf to watch at the Shriners Hospitals event. Before you start watching (or even while you are watching), let’s check in on some of day one’s highlights.

There is a lonely Canadian atop the leaderboard in Nick Taylor. When you pull up the leaderboard (on ESPN at least), he is the only non-American that you can see, and he is the sole leader as well. He carded a nice clean 63 in his opening round, with six birdies, as well as an eagle on the par 4 15th hole.

Although he is at the top by himself, there is a boatload of players behind him. Brian Harman was the only golfer to shoot 64 yesterday for a solo second place after Thursday’s round. There were five 65’s, 12 66’s, and 23 67’s. There are plenty of people who could make a move, and one of them is a big fan of hitting bombs.

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Phil Mickelson shot one of those 65’s during Thursday’s rounds. His lone mistake was a bogey on the 10th hole. He more than made up for it with a 31 on the front nine, finishing with 7 birdies total. Although he is going to turn 50 this year, Phil is showing that he can occasionally still keep up and play with the youngsters on tour.

A couple of those youngsters are right behind Phil, and both shot 66 yesterday. Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay are right there in the mix, albeit with very different scorecards. Bryson went off on the back nine, with six birdies and no bogeys. His front nine was drastically different, with a lone bogey.

Cantlay had four birdies, a bogey on the par 3 14th hole, and an eagle on the par 5 16th hole. Both of their rounds lead to a 66. They have both already teed off today, each having one of the morning tee times.

Two of the youngest in the field, collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff, are both in range of Taylor. They shot 67 Thursday, joining the incredibly large group of golfers at -4.

Max Homa was one of the golfers who struggled in his opening round, but he didn’t let that ruin his sense of humor as he eviscerated a twitter troll who tried to get under his skin.

Dang didn’t see u playing today. Will u also be playing in the Masters in April? Or is that just me? https://t.co/szHGVEMfLB
— max homa (@Maxhoma) October 4, 2019

GOT HIM!!!!

Homa would finish the day at +5, well off the cut line and with plenty of ground that he needs to catch up on. He still counts as one of the winners from day one after that exchange though.

Lastly, Smylie Kaufman continues to struggle, as he was the only golfer to shoot over 80, finishing at 84. He didn’t find any birdies and would finish with six bogeys, two doubles, and one triple.

Day two is well underway, so get out there and watch some great golf at the Shriners Hospitals for Childrens Open!