Beau Hossler rode a stellar finish to a 9-under-par 61 and held a one-shot lead when the first round of the Wyndham Championship was suspended late Thursday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C.
Only 12 players were still on the course at Sedgefield Country Club when play was halted due to inclement weather. They will complete their rounds early Friday morning.
Ben James got into the clubhouse with an 8-under 62, tied with Sahith Theegala for second, just before the weather delay.
Eric Cole is another shot back at 63 and six players were tied at 64 — Matti Schmid of Germany, Denny McCarthy, Davis Thompson, Hayden Springer, Doug Ghim and Zach Bauchou — at the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale.
Hossler, 31, would stand to benefit in a massive way if this were the week he pulled off his first career PGA Tour victory. Hossler is projected to jump 70 places from 122nd to 52nd in the FedEx Cup standings should he win.
The top 70 after this tournament are locked in for the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“Try and win a golf tournament, that’s all there is to it,” Hossler said. “Try and do the same thing every week. Been out here for nine years and yeah, at the end of the day like that’s what we all prepare to do, whether it’s the first week of the year or a week like this.
“As you know, there’s lots of players that this week’s performance does impact moving on or not or whatever. Obviously, every week that we play out here has implications for future years. I think if you let that consume you, it’s a dangerous thing.”
Hossler rang up four birdies in a row at Nos. 3-6 and added one at the ninth to go out in 5-under 30. He made five straight pars from there and wasn’t on 59 watch, but an eagle at the par-5 15th gave him a boost.
He sank a slippery, right-to-left 27-footer from just off the green there, then birdied Nos. 17 and 18 for a 4-under finish on the last four holes.
“Was a really awkward putt,” Hossler said. “Was honestly just trying to lag it down there to something very makeable and got lucky that it went in.”
James had two eagles during his round, from putts on the par-5 fifth and 15th, but a bogey-birdie-bogey finish prevented him from sharing the lead.
“No. 5, just played it beautifully, driver, 8-iron,” James said. “Pin was pretty gettable when you’re in the fairway. Then just brushed that in.
“Then 15, hit a 3-wood, hit a 4-iron that I thought was lower right and ended up carrying to be perfect again, 6 feet. Brushed it in. It was good to have two eagles in the round.”
James just turned pro this summer, earning his tour card via the PGA Tour University pathway, and entered the week 141st in the points standings.
Theegala had a white-hot start that led to a hardly believable card: He birdied every hole on the front nine except the par-3 seventh, which he bogeyed, leading to a 7-under 28 without a single par. From there, he made eight pars in a row before closing with a birdie.
“Pretty wild. I’ve never had a round like that,” Theegala said. “I think historically I’ve always struggled to start rounds really well, so that was the first time I ever started a round with six (birdies) in a row. That was an incredible start. It didn’t feel like a fluke or anything, either.”
Theegala is comfortably in the playoff field as the No. 43 in the current standings, but a strong finish this week would boost him closer to the top 30. Only 30 players qualify for the Tour Championship following the first two legs of the playoffs.
“I think in the past, whenever I think about a certain expectation, I never do too well,” Theegala said. “Obviously, at the start of the year that was one of my goals. I got off to a nice start, so I kind of changed my goal to get to top 30 instead of 50.
“… Yeah, we’re not blind to it. Top 50’s obviously huge, it’s a big deal. Top 30’s also just as big of a deal. Yeah, I’m just excited, I feel good. Hope to keep this play going.”
World No. 3 and defending champion Cameron Young struggled to a 1-over 71 and is in danger of missing the cut Friday.
–Field Level Media
