Beau Hossler Dominates with 10-Under 60 at Wyndham Championship Amid Rain Delays
Beau Hossler put up an incredible 10-under 60 on Friday at the rain-affected Wyndham Championship 2024.
He only missed a sub-60 score by making pars on his last three holes. Play on the soft and susceptible Sedgefield Country Club was interrupted owing to Tropical Storm Debby, which caused the tournament to be postponed.
After heavy rain and wind from Tropical Storm, Hossler led Billy Horschel by two strokes in the tournament, which began a day later than scheduled. Debby dominated Thursday’s play. On Friday, play was also postponed due to darkness, preventing Horschel and other afternoon starters from finishing the round. There were still two holes in him. Due to the rainy weather, competitors were permitted to lift, clean, and place their golf balls in the fairways.
Hossler finished the round at 6-under thanks to a tap-in eagle on the par-5 fifth and a further birdie on the par-4 eighth, completing a front-nine 28. On holes 14 and 15, he made the final two of his nine birdies, opening the back nine birdie-bogey-birdie.
“I played it really well, and the mid-irons were probably the highlight of the round,” Hossler remarked. “I nearly made a hole-in-one with my 5-iron, and I hit a few 6-irons really close.” It was one of those days when it seemed like everything went according to plan.
The 29-year-old former University of Texas standout, who is now winless on the PGA TOUR, missed birdie putts from 30 feet on the par-3 16th and 17 feet on the par-4 17th. He struck into a left greenside bunker on the par-4 18th hole, drove into the left rough, and then bombed out to seven feet to position himself up for a par-saving putt. In the opening round of his 2018 triumph, Brandt Snedeker posted a course record of 59, which he was one stroke off of.
Hossler remarked, “Anytime you can make a 4 on 18 here, you’ve done well.” “I knew I had to hit it on the fairway if I was going to have a chance to make birdie. There was just no way I could get it on that shelf to take a closer look once I was in the left rough.
Hossler started the last round of the PGA TOUR Regular Season 88th in the FedExCup standings; the top 70 finishers advance to the playoffs, which begin in Tennessee the following week.
Hossler explained, “I was just coming here and trying to play as well as I could and see what I got. This course has not treated me particularly well in the past.”
Horschel concluded his round on 16 with a 4 1/2-foot birdie putt. Horschel is now ranked 27th in the FedExCup and recently tied for second place in The Open Championship three weeks prior. On the second par-4, he hammered it for eagle from 143 yards.
Horschel stated, “You can be aggressive if you can put the ball in the fairway, which has always been the case here.” “That makes it even more important to have the ball in the fairway, especially in soft conditions.”
He captured his seventh PGA TOUR championship in April, winning the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic. With four holes remaining, Canadian Nick Taylor was at 7 under par. Ben Taylor, Austin Eckroat, Matt Kuchar, and Brendon Todd all shot 64.
Kuchar, who began the week ranked 111th, is the only player in FedExCup Playoffs history to have qualified for every postseason. A win would move him into the top 70.
Kuchar remarked, “I found a lot of fairways.” “I get to kind of cherry-pick a lie, hit some good shots, and watch a few putts go in when I play lift, clean, and place.”
After matching Hossler’s front nine score of 28, Ben Taylor shot 1-over 36 on the back nine. On the first five and seven of the first eight holes, he made birdies. He chose to finish in the dark and closed with a bogey on 18.
With a 67, Jordan Spieth, ranked No. 62 in the rankings, birdied the par-5 15th hole. For the first time since 2020, he is participating in the event.
