(Photo credit score: Jeff Romance / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Images)
Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez opened the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational with an eagle, and he holds a one-shot lead after the primary spherical of the occasion on Friday in Boca Raton, Fla.
Gonzalez shot a 6-under-par 66 at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club. Stewart Cink is one stroke again, with George McNeill and Australian Steve Allan tied for third at 4 underneath.
Greg Chalmers, one other Aussie, shares fifth place with Ben Crane and Shane Bertsch at 3-under 69. Eleven gamers are tied for eighth at 70.
Gonzalez started his spherical on the par-5 tenth gap. He reached the inexperienced in two and sank the putt for an ideal begin. Gonzalez then racked up 5 birdies earlier than lastly making his lone bogey of the day on the par-3 eighth gap.
‘I really feel nice as a result of I believe is my first time beginning the highest of the leaderboard and so joyful to try this,’ mentioned Gonzalez, whose lone PGA Tour Champions win got here in 2024 in Morocco. ‘And particularly right here on this golf course, very powerful on this wind immediately. I believe certainly one of my finest day in golf.
‘Because this course is slender, have plenty of bunkers, and I have to hold the ball within the fairway. With this wind, it’s extremely powerful, particularly on some holes it is crosswind, powerful to (play). And immediately I hit an excellent tee shot all day, (making it a lot simpler) to make good rating.’
Cink’s regular spherical featured three birdies on every 9 surrounding his lone bogey, on the par-4 ninth gap. Cink, a former Open Championship winner, owns 5 profession senior wins, together with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship final fall and the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January.
‘This is my first time taking part in this course, and day by day I’ve performed it this week it has been the identical wind, the identical wind course,’ Cink mentioned. ‘There’s been little or no variance. So we’re getting accustomed to taking part in this course with this type of wind course. Now, if it flipped round and blew the (different) course, it will be a totally completely different course, however as it’s we’re sort of getting the texture for a few of these tee pictures and a number of the approaches.
‘Mostly our sport plan was good and I hit plenty of strong pictures, gave myself some birdie seems to be, made my share. Probably may have made just a few extra, but it surely was a day I’m fairly happy with total.’
–Field Level Media