Zozo Championship: Sebastian Munoz has the Early Lead

After the first round of the Zozo Championship, Sebastian Munoz has the lead all on his own.

There were plenty of players that looked like they might challenge for the lead at the Zozo Championship throughout the opening round. Once everyone’s rounds were down, there was a lone man atop the leaderboard in Sebastian Munoz after his -8 64.

As was the case with many rounds on the day, Munoz had quite the up and down round. You would think that someone who shot -8 in a round would have a relatively clean sheet, but that wasn’t quite the case for him.

It isn’t often that a player will have two bogeys as well as a double bogey, and be able to find themselves near the top of the leaderboard. You might see it when they are playing at a tough course with scores sitting somewhere around par. That isn’t the case at the Zozo, as there are 25 players that shot -4 or better during the opening round.

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Yet, that is exactly where Sebastian Munoz is at. The next assumption I would have after seeing that Munoz shot -8 with two bogeys and a double, was that he made an insane amount of birdies. Nope… that wasn’t the case either. He did finish the day with eight birdies, but you would expect that number to be either ten or 12.

Yet, it was just eight birdies, due in part to the fact that he made two eagles on his day, only one of which came on a par 5. His first one of the day came on the par 4 7th hole. After a nice 287 yard drive that was on the right edge of the fairway, Munoz was looking at nearly 170 yards to the hole. Turns out, he had his number exact, as he would make the shot for a 2.

It must’ve been his day, as Munoz decided that he liked making it off the green so much, that he decided to do it again on the par 5 16th hole. This time it was much more reasonable, as he was facing his third shot from around 50 yards away. No need for a putter, as he would again make it for eagle.

Munoz didn’t have an insane side on the day, ala Justin Thomas and his 29, but he was able to a very impressive 32-32 for his round.

Sebastian Munoz took major advantage of the par 5’s at the Zozo, cashing in more than anyone else on the day. In addition to the eagle that he made on the 16th, Munoz would birdie each of the remaining par 3’s. He nearly had another eagle on the par 5 2nd hole, hitting his 20-foot putt to 4 inches away, tapping in for birdie.

Then, at the par 5 11th, he nearly chipped in again, this time from 20 yards. He would put it to about 2 feet, and once again tap in for birdie. The remaining par 5 was his least eventful of the day, as a 20 footer for eagle was left short by two feet.

Next. Golf Tips: Hand Position on the Club makes a World of Difference. dark

Munoz tees off nearly in the middle of the day on Friday, playing an 11:07 pacific tee time with last week’s winner Jason Kokrak as well as Sungjae Im.

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