Juan Sebastián Muñoz assumes the leadership in the PGA ZoZo Championship – Other Sports – Sports

In a vibrant first round on the Sherwood course, the Colombian golfer Sebastian Muñoz took the solo lead of the PGA ZoZo Championship on Thursday, where Spaniard Jon Rahm finished four strokes away and Tiger Woods was shipwrecked at 12.

Muñoz, 27, made two eagles, eight birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey on his way to a 64-stroke, eight-under-par card that places him at the provisional top at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. on the outskirts of Los Angeles (California).

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“I’ve gotten better at handling crazy highs and lows,” said the golfer from Bogotá. “At first I thought, ‘What should I do? Should I be calmer? Should I attack more? “He recalled.” And I told myself that the best thing was to continue playing golf.

It’s just one of those days. This happens. ”Muñoz, whose only PGA win was last year at Jackson, Mississippi, said he enjoyed the round even though he started with a bogey.

The Colombian followed with birdies on four of the next five holes before his first eagle, hitting a 9 iron from 168 yards (154 meters). After a bogey in the eighth, Muñoz birdied three of the next four holes, before a double bogey in the 14th when his tee shot landed next to a bush.

Muñoz responded with another eagle in 16th before a final birdie in 17th. “I just threw it up there and found the hole,” he said. “It was very sweet.” It is the third time in his career that Muñoz has achieved two Eagles in the same round.

“It’s great. It’s beautiful,” Muñoz said about the field. “All par-5s are achievable. Par-3s are fun. It’s a great place. Anything can happen.” The Englishman Tyrrell Hatton and the American Justin Thomas were just one stroke behind the Colombian. Jon Rahm, number two in the world ranking, signed a card of 68 strokes, four under par, which places him in the group in 17th place.

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The Spaniard aspires to return to the top of the ranking taking advantage of the absence of the leader, the American Dustin Johnson, for the second consecutive tournament due to his contagion of coronavirus. On his side, Tiger Woods had his worst performance in Sherwood with 76 strokes, four over par, which leaves him in the 75th shared place of the 77 participants in this tournament without a cut. Woods is the defending champion of this event, who was transferred this year to his native California from Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The American star, who declined to comment late in the round, matched his worst PGA performance on the par-5 holes, with a birdie, two bogeys and a double-bogey.

PGA ZoZo Championship tournament standings after Thursday’s first round (par 72):

64 – Sebastián Muñoz (COL)
65 – Tyrrell Hatton (ENG), Justin Thomas (USA)
66 – Brian Harman (USA), Lanto Griffin (USA), Kevin Kisner (USA), Harris English (USA), Dylan Frittelli (RSA)
67 – Mackenzie Hughes (CAN), Patrick Cantlay (USA), Cameron Smith (AUS), Justin Rose (ENG), Alex Noren (SWE), Scottie Scheffler (USA), Abraham Ancer (MEX)
68 –Im Sung-jae (KOR), Tyler Duncan (USA), Jon Rahm (ESP), Russell Henley (USA), Rikuya Hoshino (JPN), Satoshi Kodaira (JPN).

AFP