The weather hasn’t been kind to Scottsdale. First the morning frost delayed the start of the first round by 1 hour 50 minutes. And when the game finally started, the gusts of wind made life difficult for the players. Many have therefore been beaten by the Scottsdale course (77 out of 134 players are above par this Thursday evening), like Tommy Fleetwood (58th at +1). Beautiful people find themselves in 82nd place at +2 between Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa or Rory McIlroy.
« Hard daydropped the world number 1. The wind was rough, with a ton of crosswinds. And when I felt like I was in on it, it would come down slightly. When you have that sidewind all the time, if it changes just a little, one way or the other, it’s a completely different shot, a completely different club. I was surprised several times, it was not ideal. I felt like my best swing was on the 7 and I hit it 20 yards over the green. »
In front, two Canadians share the lead at -5. Adam Hadwin had six birdies against a bogey: “It’s an excellent start to the tournament in difficult conditions. The wind was swirling and it all depended on what gusts you had. You had to stay patient, try to choose your shots, execute them, and if you had gusts, you had to deal with it. I did a great job, hit really hard all day, made a bunch of putts and stayed steady. »
Nick Taylor relied on an eagle on hole 3 and a solid return with six birdies. The Winnipeg native, however, conceded a double bogey on the 6 and a bogey on the 9. “I drove very well from the start of the course. The outward journey is more difficult, there are not as many opportunities as on the way back. It was good to see a few putts in on the 10 and 11 and continue on the 12. I was lucky enough to birdie relatively easy with a nice chip on the 13. I wanted it to continue because I knew I had a good swing and was hitting a bunch of greens”analyzed the 34-year-old player.
Scheffler, Rahm and Hovland have yet to finish
Xander Schauffele completes the podium at -4, accompanied by Jim Herman and Jason Day, arrested overnight after 13 and 10 holes. Nearly half the field will complete its first round on Friday. The defending champion Scottie Scheffler, whose coronation last year had launched him towards the place of world number 1 and victory at the Masters, is stopped with two birdies and a bogey after 11 holes. In the same game, Viktor Hovland presents the same record. They are 19th.
Jon Rahm also got off to a good start. The Spaniard was interrupted after his eagle at hole 13. With two birdies against a bogey, the 3rd player in the world points to 6th position at -3. On the other hand, no French on this WM Phoenix Open. After his 20th place at Pebble Beach, Martin Trainer withdrew from qualifying on Monday.
