LA QUINTA, Calif. Patrick Cantlay shot a 10-under 62 in perfect weather and lawn conditions Thursday at La Quinta Country Club for a share of the first-round lead with Rookie Lee Hodges in The American Express.
Cantlay played the first seven holes in 7 under, leaving an eagle on the Par-5 sixth and five birdies. The FedEx Cup champion added Birdies at Nos. 11-13, including two Par 5s, and closed with five straight pars.
“I played a role at the start and made a couple of putts and then I got behind on the way to the finish,” Cantlay said. “But I was satisfied with everything. I thought I did everything right and this is a golf course that I really like. He is in perfect condition and if you throw the ball in line he should come in.”
Cantlay won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship in his last two starts last year and opened this year with a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in Hawaii at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Last year in the desert, the 29-year-old former UCLA player closed with a course-record 61 to finish one shot behind winner Si woo Kim..
“I grew up a few hours away, so there are a few friendly faces in the crowd and it’s really fun,” Cantlay said. “The best thing about what I’m doing is playing a role like that and making a few birdies.”
Hodges made a memorable start to the event. The former Alabama star played the back Nine at La Quinta in a 7-under 29, eagling the par-5 fifth and made five birdies.
“It’s one of my favorite golf courses I’ve ever played, to be honest,” Hodges said. “I’ve played it three times now and it’s spectacular. It’s like bouncing on carpets for half the time. He’s just in perfect shape. You will be rewarded for good shots here, which I like. Good Golf is rewarded.”
Cameron Young and K. H. Lee took third place with 64. Young played at La Quinta and Lee on the stadium field.
Brandt Snedeker was at 65 with Joseph Bramlett, Greyson Sigg, Sam Ryder, Danny Lee, Tom Hoge, Wyndham Clark and Seamus Power. Snedeker and Clark played La Quinta, Bramlett and Ryder at the Stadium Course and Lee, Hoge, Power and Sigg at the Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Players who opened at La Quinta will play Friday at the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the weekend at the adjacent Stadium Course, with strong winds expected Saturday.
TOP-PLACED Jon Rahm and Graeme McDowell were in the group at 66, both playing at La Quinta.
“I liked the score and the weather,” Rahm said. “It’s always a very pleasant walk here. La Quinta Country Club is a large golf course. He’s still in impeccable form, one of the best we play all year.”
McDowell has played the event only once before, not found the cut.
“I think my Caddie and I are both looking at each other and wondering why it took us so long to come here,” McDowell said. “Obviously the weather is perfect and these golf courses are so well presented.”
Harry Higgs had a hole-in-one on the Par-3 15th at La Quinta in a 66th he used a 5-iron on the 199-yard hole.
Tournament host Phil Mickelson was the last to be tied on the 156-player field after a 78 at La Quinta. He made a quintuple-Bogey 9 on the par-4 eighth after hitting two drives out of bounds.
