Hanson leads by one stroke
Peter Hanson surged to a one shot lead on a course he barely knows at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Texas.
The Swede, who is yet to win on the PGA Tour, was off to a fast start and found himself on five under after nine holes, but a bogey on the par four 14th pegged him back. Making a six foot birdie putt on the 18th saw him card a five under 65 to grab a one shot lead.
“It’s always nice to get off to a fast start,” said Hanson, who withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago with a back injury.
“I gave myself a few chances on the back (nine), made a bogey on 14 from the middle of the fairway and had a reasonable chance to make a birdie on 16.
“It was nice to get off with a birdie at the last. With the greens and how small they are and the run-off areas, if you start missing greens you get some very, very difficult lies and up and downs. Once you start chipping, you will make bogeys.”
Hanson has a one shot lead over the chasing trio of David Duval, Australia’s Marc Leishman and Tim Wilkinson of New Zealand.
Duval raced up the leaderboard with four birdies in his last five holes. Citing a pain in his right elbow, the American nearly withdrew from the tournament altogether.
“I’m tickled pink it feels as good as it does right now,” said the former world number one about his elbow.
“It was not good, and you know, I’m not getting to play a whole lot right now. It would’ve been a hard thing to swallow not to be able to tee off.”
Meanwhile, defending champion Bae Sang-moon of South Korea had a checkered round, mixing in five birdies with six bogeys, including a double at the par four eighth, to card a three over 73.
Local Jordan Spieth opened with a 70 while last weeks’ Players Championship winner, Martin Kaymer, is two shots back on three under.
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