Patrick Rodgers’ 6-under round ends odd drought without Tour golf
Patrick Rodgers wasn't planning on a long vacation from golf. But he got caught in one of those weird situations that sometimes happens to a pro player.
The former Stanford star missed nearly two months of earning a paycheck because he had a special temporary membership from the PGA Tour which precluded him from earning enough points to play in the Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. And because he was getting his PGA Tour card, he was ineligible to play in the Web.com championship. So when Rodgers signed his card at the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 23, it was the last time he played a competitive round for the 2015 season.
But it's a new year on the Tour and Rodgers, the former All-American from Stanford, has come out firing. He finished in a tie for sixth place last week at the Frys.com Open in Napa, Calif. Thursday, he was 5-under at the turn of his opening round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open before finishing at 6-under 65 at TPC Summerlin. Rodgers is one shot out of the lead going into today's second round at TPC Summerlin.
"I thought it could definitely be an advantage," Rodgers said of his time off. "It definiely wasn't exactly what I was working for but I definitely made the most of my eight weeks off."
Rodgers didn't touch a golf club for a month. Instead, he visited friends, attended a couple of Stanford football games and spent time in Florida at his new condominium.
"I did a little bit of everything," he said.
If there was any residual rust to his game, it wasn't evident Thursday. Rodgers made an eagle at the par-5 ninth to make the turn at 5-under. He dropped a stroke with a bogey at the par-4 10th but made it up with a birdie at the par-3 14th. He got back to the top of the leaderboard with a birdie at the par-4 15th to go to 6-under and a birdie at the par-5 16th before a bogey at the par-3 17th set him back.
"When I first started coming back, my game wasn't very good," he said. "But when I got to Napa last Thursday, I felt like I was ready and it was nice to get off to a fast start here."
He'll be playing his second round with the afternoon groups but he's not changing his mindset.
"It's going to take a lot lower than 6-under to win this tournament so I'm keeping my foot on the gas pedal," he said.
CAMPBELL COMES THROUGH — It was a great start for Chad Campbell as he had a 6-under 65 and the former UNLV star thought he had a big round in him when he teed off Thursday.
"I feel like my game's coming around," he said. "I had five weeks off and it gave me a chance to rest up and work on some things."
Campbell, who is playing the Shriners Open for the 13th time and has a runner-up finish in 2009 and a third-place finish in 2008, carded eight birdies against just two bogeys. And while he didn't hit it as well from the fairway as he would have liked, he putted well and that was the key to his first round. He is part of a group of 11 players who are one shot in back of the co-leaders Mark Hubbard, David Hearn, Michael Thompson and Tyler Aldridge.
"You've got to make putts if you're going to have any chance out here," Campbell said. "The greens were in great shape and I was able to get a few to drop for me."
LOCAL LEADERBOARD — There are 10 players with ties to either Las Vegas or UNLV playing this week and Campbell's 65 led the way. Henderson's Nick Watney had a 67 and Las Vegas resident Kevin Na finished with a 68 while UNLV alums Ryan Moore and Charley Hoffman posted a 69 and 71 respectively.
Other locals competing included former Bonanza High star Scott Piercy, who had a 72, Las Vegas' Alex Prugh was also 1-over at 72 while former UNLV player Andres Gonzales who finished with a 73 and former Rebel Derek Ernst who had a 75. UNLV alum Chris Riley was 2-over through 17 holes when play was suspended due to darkness.
POST-ROUND CONCERT — If you're coming out to TPC Summerlin for today's second round, there will be a free concert following the day's play as country music artist Michael Austin performs at The Hill. Austin appeared in season four of NBC's show "The Voice."
WALK FOR LOVE — Those playing and working at the tournament were given pedometers Monday as part of Walk For Love challenge. The goal is one million combined steps through Sunday in honor of the one million children served by the 22 Shriners Hospitals.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj
