Moore ties course record with 61 at Shriners Open

The ball kept landing in the fairway. The putts kept dropping. The scorecard was flush with red ink.

And as he kept sailing along Thursday around TPC Summerlin, Ryan Moore was not thinking about making history. All the former UNLV standout wanted was to put up a good number in the opening round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and put himself in contention.

He put up a good number all right. A 10-under-par 61 that tied the course record held by Hunter Haas, Tag Ridings and Davis Love III also put Moore at the top of the leaderboard by one stroke heading into today's second round.

"I had no idea that was the course record," he said. "I've just been playing good, solid golf lately. I'm hitting the ball solid and giving myself opportunities."

Moore had nine birdies and an eagle at the par-4 No. 15, and he played his front nine, starting from No. 10, in 7 under. His lone hiccup came at the par-3 No. 8 when he missed the green with his tee shot and wound up missing his par putt by inches, settling for bogey.

"I'm so comfortable playing this course," Moore said. "I played here a fair bit last year before the tournament but not nearly as much as I have this year. I know where you can hit it through, where you can carry, all the little things.

"I also finally got my putting squared away about a month ago. My lines had gotten a little off. But my brother came out to Boston at the Deutsche Bank tournament. He had caddied for me for years, and he always had a good eye. He got me aligned properly, and I started making putts again."

Before teeing off at the eighth, he was 10 under. Not only was he zeroing in on owning the course record by himself, he was flirting with the tournament record of 59 set by Chip Beck at Sunrise Golf Club in 1991.

The bogey at No. 8 quelled that notion. Still, the course record was within reach, and Moore went for it at the par-5, 563-yard ninth, trying to reach it in two to give himself one more eagle opportunity.

Instead, his second shot landed in the front bunker. Moore got up and down in two, making birdie and sharing the record with Haas, who had a 61 in last year's second round, Ridings, who was 10 under in the final round of 2004, and Love, who had a final-round 61 in 2001.

"Yeah, I was definitely going for it," Moore said of his attempt for eagle at 9. "But it didn't work out."

Moore, who had shot 61 in January in the second round of the Humana Challenge, said he didn't have a feeling he was going to accomplish something special early in Thursday's round.

"I was just hitting good, solid shots and converting," he said.

Moore's outstanding round overshadowed pretty good golf from Brendon de Jonge, who birdied two of his last three holes to finish at 9-under 62, a shot behind Moore.

"I had three weeks off, and I feel very rested," said de Jonge, who equaled his best career round after having carded a 62 in January at the Sony Open. "I've had some good practice, and I'm feeling good about my game at the moment."

Tim Herron, who along with John Huh finished at 63, said a hot putter was the difference for him.

"I had missed a couple of putts early," Herron said. "But I hung in there, and things started rolling.

"The greens are a little soft right now. I know by the weekend it totally changes and they speed up another couple of feet, so I knew if I was going to go for it, (Thursday) was the day to do it."

Defending champion Kevin Na overcame a tough start to finish at 68. He was 1 over at the turn and couldn't get the ball to drop until he birdied Nos. 16, 17 and 18.

But everyone is chasing Moore. And even though he's playing in the afternoon on a course that won't be as pristine, Moore said he doesn't intend on doing anything differently than he did Thursday.

"I'm just going to go out and play this golf course how I want to play it," he said. "The score may be different, but I'm going to approach it the same."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.