Pierceson Coody made headlines on Thursday by leading the first round with an incredible 11-under 61, the lowest round of his PGA TOUR career at the ISCO Championship.
During the bogey-free morning round on the Champions Trace at Keene Trace Golf Club, Coody hit 11 birdies, including six consecutive birdies on holes 5–10. He finished with 20 putts, the last of which was a 5-footer for birdie on the par-4 18th.
“This season, I’ve been putting really nice,” Coody, 24, stated. Coody is the grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody. If you keep it in play and in front of you, you have a lot of wedges and a lot of opportunities to get a birdie. It’s almost like a core set. I simply witnessed a lot of putts go in on that particular day.
In the competition co-sponsored by the DP World Tour, Hayden Springer trailed Rico Hoey of the Philippines by three strokes at 64.
In the afternoon session, Springer finished with a birdie on 18 after finishing with nine birdies and a bogey. The rookie on the TOUR started the John Deere Classic in Illinois last week with a 59, tying for eighth place.
Springer remarked, “I played really solid all day.” “Made a few putts and hit a number of greens.” Hoey enjoyed a bogey-free morning round, eagleing the par-5 eighth and finishing with six birdies.
“I wanted to go out and start firing and that’s what I did because I knew the scores were going to be low today,” Hoey remarked. “The weather was quite pleasant.” There was a fair amount of stillness, even though the wind was circling a little.
With a 65, Alexander Knappe had two front-nine eagles. Along with Andy Sullivan, Justin Suh, Andrea Pavan, Andrew Wilson, Francesco Laporta, Angel Hidalgo Portillo, and Ryan McCormick, Lanto Griffin was 65 as well.
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The afternoon round saw Luke Clanton, the sophomore from Florida State who tied for second in the John Deere Classic, bogey the last two holes to finish with a 70. He’s the only amateur to place in the top 10 in back-to-back PGA TOUR-sanctioned starts since Billy Joe Patton in 1958.
In 26 PGA TOUR starts over his career, Coody has not won. The Texan concluded with a 64 to tie for 30th at the John Deere.
“It was a positive step at John Deere on Sunday,” Coody remarked. “Clearly, this is keeping things going in the right direction.”
