Shriners Open co-leader Hearn starts strong, closes even stronger
David Hearn knew he had to get off to a fast start if he was serious about contending for the championship of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
He started fast and finished even faster Thursday at TPC Summerlin, opening with birdies on three of his first four holes and closing out his first round with three consecutive birdies in posting a 7-under-par round of 64 and a share of the lead.
Joining Hearn at the top of the leaderboard were Michael Thompson and Mark Hubbard. A late arrival was Tyler Aldridge, who was 7 under through 16 holes when play was suspended because of darkness. Aldridge will finish his first round at 7:30 a.m. today, then play his second round as scheduled.
A group of 11 players, including former UNLV star Chad Campbell, is one shot back at 65. Defending champion Ben Martin couldn't get any momentum going and settled for a 70. Rickie Fowler, the betting favorite at 10-1, struggled to a 72.
For the leaders, momentum was not a problem. They all seemed to putt well and kept their mistakes to a minimum on a course that played a little tougher than everyone expected despite its pristine conditions.
"That was a little bit of a surprise but a welcome one," Hearn said of his strong finish. "It feels great to get off to a good start this week."
For Hearn, a 36-year-old Canadian who played collegiately at Wyoming, it was an about-face from last week when he missed the cut in the PGA Tour opener Frys.com Open in Napa, Calif. But Hearn has played well at TPC Summerlin in the past (he tied for seventh last year), and while he hasn't won in Las Vegas, his game appeared to perk up Thursday.
"For whatever reason, this course just kind of suits my eye," he said. "I just enjoy playing this golf course."
Hearn is coming off his best year on the PGA Tour, one that saw him take second at the Greenbriar Classic, win $1,817,043 total and finish 49th on the money list. He has a chance to get his 2016 season off to a great start if he can duplicate Thursday's performance.
"I hope so," he said. "I'm just going to try to stay aggressive and play smart."
Hubbard, who also has Mountain West ties from his days at San Jose State, was added to the field Monday as an alternate. He led by himself late Thursday, having gone to 8 under with an eagle at the par-5 16th. But he gave the lead back when he bogeyed the par-3 17th.
"I drove it awesome," Hubbard said. "I've been hitting it really straight off the tee, but (Thursday) I was hitting it farther than normal, so that was helpful. I also putted well. I probably had my best putting day of the year.
"It's just a nice opportunity to have. I'm trying to take advantage of it, but there's a lot of golf left."
Hubbard said he was too uptight as a rookie and got frustrated. This year, he's more relaxed.
"I almost cared too much," he said. "I've kind of taken a little bit of a chill pill recently, and I'm playing a lot better golf."
Thompson's 64 was highlighted by a nice stretch during his first nine holes when he went birdie-eagle-birdie from Nos. 15, 16 and 17, allowing him to make the turn at 5 under.
He carded back-to-back birdies at No. 7 and No. 8 to go to 7 under.
"I made two incredible putts," Thompson said of the birdies. "At seven, that probably broke about 8 feet, and when you make long putts, it's a bonus, so you've got to take advantage of those and keep it rolling."
The afternoon groups had trouble making up ground on the leaders. And with threatening skies lurking near the course, it didn't make the day any easier for those who played later in the afternoon, as the threat of rain no doubt was in the back of some players' minds as they navigated their way around TPC Summerlin.
But it didn't seem to faze Aldridge. He started his round from No. 10 going birdie-birdie and made the turn at 3 under. He then birdied the first three holes on his back nine and added the seventh birdie to his round at the par-4 No. 7 before play was stopped.
Ryan Palmer, Shane Bertsch and Patton Kizzire managed to finish before darkness fell with 65s. Kizzire birdied four of the first six holes on his back nine after making the turn at par. Palmer had four consecutive birdies on his front nine after starting his round with a bogey at No. 10.
Bertsch played a strong back nine, staying bogey-free while collecting four birdies.
The perfect morning conditions were of no help to some, including Fowler. Keegan Bradley shot 72 and Brooks Koepka 74.
"I thought I was horrible," Fowler said. "I didn't hit my irons or wedges very well (Thursday). I wasn't able to hit my scoring clubs the way I wanted to."
Fowler knows he is going to need a solid round today to make the cut.
"There's some low rounds out here," he said. "It would be nice to get a good, solid round, anything 4 or 5 or more under."
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj
