Albany [Bahamas], December 6 (ANI): Cameron Young made a surprising return to motion on the 2024 World Challenge with a bogey-free opening spherical of 64, securing a two-shot lead over Justin Thomas (66), who made a late cost with 4 consecutive birdies from the 14th gap.
World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, taking part in for the primary time for the reason that Presidents Cup in September, carded a stable 67. This marked his eleventh spherical within the 60s out of 13 at this occasion, the place he has beforehand completed second twice and first as soon as. Scheffler was tied for third with Akshay Bhatia, Sahith Theegala, Ludvig Aberg, and Patrick Cantlay, all of whom shot 67.
Neither Young nor Thomas has gained in latest instances. Young remains to be searching for his first PGA Tour victory since becoming a member of in 2022, whereas Thomas’s final win got here on the 2022 PGA Championship. However, Thomas completed second in his most up-to-date outing on the Zozo Championship in October and just lately celebrated turning into a father.
Reflecting on his break day, Young mentioned, “Yeah, just some work on myself physically and then just standard practice. I mean, it’s a nice time to go back to all the really simple things, make them comfortable again, and get yourself really square, working on setup things.”Young, who recorded a 59 on the Travelers Championship in June this yr, remains to be chasing his maiden PGA Tour win. In his HWC debut in 2022, he completed third and has since achieved 5 top-10 finishes in his final 13 majors, together with a runner-up spot on the Open Championship at St. Andrews in 2022 and T-3 on the 2022 PGA Championship. Since mid-2022, Young has endured eight runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour. Determined to interrupt that streak, Young picked up 5 birdies in his first eight holes and added three extra on the again 9 for a bogey-free 64.
Bhatia, whose solely begin for the reason that Tour Championship in late August was the Dunlop Phoenix occasion in Japan two weeks in the past (the place he completed tied second), expressed satisfaction together with his 67. “I played the par 5s pretty well today. I haven’t played much competitive golf, so I was a little more nervous. All in all, it was pretty good. I have this new prototype driver in the bag, which is a big thing for me. I felt like my driving stats last year went downhill a little. I was fighting a two-way miss, making good swings. Some weeks it was good, and some weeks it just wasn’t there,” he mentioned.
Theegala, who celebrated his twenty seventh birthday earlier within the week, completed strongly with 4 birdies on the again 9 after a modest 1-under entrance 9. “Playing this event has always been a big thing,” mentioned Theegala, who joined the tie for third together with his 67.
Scheffler, who gained seven instances in 2024, together with an Olympic gold medal, additionally carded 67. This marked his eleventh spherical within the 60s out of 13 on the HWC since his debut in 2021. His earlier outcomes at this occasion are 2-2-1. Scheffler experimented with a brand new grip for his placing, which he used selectively relying on the size of the putt. He defined, “Typically, the further I am from the hole, the more likely I am to use the conventional grip. I feel like my speed has always been extremely good, especially from long range. The closer I get to the hole, within that 15-foot range, I think that’s where I’mseeing the most benefits.”Thomas, making his first begin in six weeks following a runner-up end on the Zozo Championship, was additionally happy together with his 67. “Definitely pleased, especially with how the start was. I just wasn’t taking advantage of any of the par 5s or scoring holes, and I wasn’t making anything at all. Hit some good putts, hit some really bad putts, but I felt like I was maybe trying a little too hard to get it going,” he mentioned.
Meanwhile, Dunlap reached 7-under at one stage however dropped a shot on the sixteenth and stumbled into thick vegetation on the 18th, leading to a double bogey. He completed at 4-under and was tied for eighth alongside Robert MacIntyre, Sam Burns, and Keegan Bradley, all of whom shot 68. (ANI)