Min Woo Lee made an unbelievable par save on his last gap to maintain his spot only one shot behind the leaders after the opening spherical of The Gamers Championship in Florida.
Lee hit his last drive up to now proper it went past a grandstand at TPC Sawgrass and his first try and get again to the green failed.
His second try at scrubbing his ball in the direction of the inexperienced from pine straw was higher, reaching the placing floor, and he nailed a 4m putt to signal for a gap five-under 65 on the $US25 million ($A40m) occasion thought-about golf’s fifth main.
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Colombia’s Camilo Villegas and Individuals Lucas Glover and J.J. Spaun every fired six-under-par 66s to share the lead on the darkness-halted opening spherical.
4-time main winner Rory McIlroy was just one stroke adrift, sharing second with Australian Lee and Individuals Akshay Bhatia and Billy Horschel after 18 holes at TPC Sawgrass. It was a blended day for the Aussies, with prime hope Jason Day withdawal hours earlier than play attributable to sickness.
Commentators described Lee’s last gap par as “one of many craziest fours you’ll ever see” and the 26-year-old admitted his reduction at preserving his good openining spherical.
“I simply had a sense that if I hit a great two-iron, which I’ve been all day, I may have a brief wedge in. Managed to provide the worst swing of the day about 40 yards proper of the place I needed to hit it,” Lee stated of his 18th-hole journey.
“I used to be simply very completely satisfied to have a par putt. I actually had no shot. I had a chance to form of go over the grandstand, and if it ended up within the grandstand I might get a drop, however that was nonetheless a tricky shot pitching it again this manner.
“I needed to hit the cart path possibly as soon as however not 4 instances, one thing like that, 4 or 5 instances. I attempted to one-bounce it after which the second – hopefully the second bounce was underneath the branches and letting it roll out to the green. But it surely simply got here out – it was into the grain and it simply got here out completely useless.
“Then I simply thought, if I can get it previous a tree, it might be a straight shot as much as the inexperienced, nevertheless it actually was caught behind a tree, and I used to be like, good one, good job.
“That third shot may have simply gone within the water had I simply pulled it however used a little bit of magic and tried to chop up a pitching wedge out of the tough and out of the pine straw, and it was completely excellent.
“It was good to have a par putt and managed to sneak it in on the suitable edge. It summed up the day. It was a very stable day.”
Lee has kind at The Gamers, having performed within the last group on Sunday in his event debut in 2023, ending in a tie for sixth.
After nailing 5 birdies in his opening 9 holes, his affinity with the course was clear and an Eleventh-hole bogey and his errant tee shot on the 18th have been amongst few errors for the 26-year-old, who leads the Aussie contingent.
He’s one shot behind a trio of gamers and 5 pictures forward of compatriot, and first-timer, Karl Vilips, who shot an even-par 70 after his tee shot on his last gap discovered the water.
The 23-year-old, who solely who secured his place at The Gamers with a maiden PGA Tour victory on the Puerto Rico Open final week, was flying a -4 by way of 13 holes however dropped 4 pictures in his final 4 holes.
Adam Scott battled to a two-over 74, whereas Cam Davis additionally had points taking pictures a four-over 76.
“I learnt quite a bit from that day. It was robust. It wasn’t straightforward,” Lee stated. “The way in which that Scottie (Scheffler) performed, identical to a machine. Hopefully, I can get that snug and hit pictures after I have to, and that’s simply why he’s so good.”
Day withdrew from the occasion simply an hour earlier than he was speculated to tee off on Thursday due to an sickness.
Day, the 2016 champion coming off a top-10 end on the Arnold Palmer Invitational, didn’t instantly disclose the character of his sickness or how lengthy it might hold him off the course.
Min Woo Lee off to scintillating begin | 01:00
Spaun birdied all 4 par-five holes whereas back-nine starter Villegas birdied 5 of his first eight holes and Glover, the 2009 US Open champion, birdied the final 4 holes.
“Nice end,” Glover stated. “Any time you possibly can birdie 16, 17 and 18 it’s nice as a result of it’s such an important end and you may throw in 15 as properly. Very happy. I performed good and made putts.”
Villegas, 43, turned the primary South American participant to guide or share the lead after any spherical on the Gamers, due to some long-distance recommendation from coach Jose Campra.
“I hit the ball good,” Villegas stated. “I’ve not been hitting it nice the final couple weeks. Had an extended session with my coach yesterday morning from afar — he’s in Singapore proper now so we grinded for about two hours on the cellphone — and I felt quite a bit higher.” Spaun fired a bogey-free spherical on a tough day for leaders.
Darkness stopped play with American Max McGreevy going through a 16-foot birdie putt on the famed par-three seventeenth island gap to seize a share of the lead.
Second-ranked McIlroy, paired alongside top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and third-ranked Xander Schauffele, discovered solely 4-of-14 fairways however was magical in rescuing pars and making birdies.
The Northern Eire star opened with back-to-back birdies, reeled off 4 birdies in a row beginning on the par-five ninth and closed with a birdie at 18 after discovering pine straw off the tee.
“It was a bonus to get it up on the inexperienced and gap the putt was a beautiful strategy to end,” McIlroy stated.
“Didn’t drive it the way in which I needed to. Didn’t hit it in as many fairways as I might have appreciated. With the greens being so receptive, you will get away with it somewhat bit.
“I’m not going to have the ability to get away with it for the remainder of the week. Type of rode my luck on the market somewhat bit.”
Two-time defending champion Scheffler shot 69 whereas Schauffele, final yr’s British Open and PGA Championship winner, opened on 72.
“I simply wasn’t capable of rating in addition to I might have hoped,” Scheffler stated. “I really feel OK in regards to the spherical. I did some first rate issues on the market and gave myself some possibilities.
It was a nightmare opening spherical, nevertheless, for a pair two high-profile stars.
Viktor Hovland is presently final within the area after a disastrous eight-over par spherical whereas American Max Homa fared little higher at +7.