Charley Hoffman posted a bogey-free, 5-under 65 to take the first-round lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 47-year-old birdied two of his first three holes to get off to a strong start on a day when scoring chances were limited at Colonial Country Club. Hoffman’s round was enough for a one-shot advantage over five golfers tied for second.
Brian Harman, Tony Finau, Davis Riley, South Korea’s S.H. Kim and Scotland’s Martin Laird opened with rounds of 4-under 66.
“I saw the scores out there not going too low, I knew I didn’t have to be too aggressive,” Hoffman said. “I knew the greens were firm, wind started picking up in the middle of the round. … So I would say it was somewhat an easy 5-under, which are nice, they’re not always that way, but it was low-stress.”
After his good start, Hoffman holed a 19-foot birdie putt at the par-3 eighth hole, two-putted for birdie at the par-5 11th and swept in a right-to-left 34-footer to birdie another par-3, No. 13.
Hoffman has four PGA Tour victories on his career resume, but none since April 2016.
“If I’m healthy I feel like I can beat anybody in the world,” Hoffman said. “When my back gets a little funky I don’t think I can beat anybody. It feels pretty good. Obviously heat and humidity and all that works in my favor, there’s no question. If I stay loose, my back stays loose, I can hit it as far as anybody and I can play with ‘em.
“It’s one of the old traditional golf courses that you look on the calendar and go, ‘I think I can win this week, have a good chance to win this week.'”
Harman, the 2023 Open Championship winner and one of the highest-ranked players in the field, did all his scoring over his first eight holes, with four birdies between Nos. 10-17. He came in with 10 consecutive pars.
“I just try to keep executing and my game feels really, really good right now,” Harman said. “I haven’t had the results that I feel like I probably should have the last few weeks, but I’m playing some pretty good golf and it was nice to get off to a good start.”
Finau could also be a threat to win this week after making five birdies against just one bogey on Thursday. He drained a birdie putt from 56 feet away on his opening hole, the 10th.
“The golf course is quite a bit different than it’s been years in the past,” Finau said of Colonial’s major renovations, “and so a little bit unfamiliar, I think, with how maybe it’s going to bounce and how it’s going to play. But with the 4-under round I thought that was a really nice start.”
Hayden Buckley, Pierceson Coody, Robby Shelton and England’s Callum Tarren opened at 3-under 67. Collin Morikawa, coming off last week’s near-miss at the PGA Championship, shot a 2-under 68.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler carded a triple bogey en route to a 2-over 72, the first time he’s opened a PGA Tour event with a round over par since the 2023 Tour Championship. At the par-3 13th, Scheffler’s tee shot sailed right and landed in the water, and after taking a drop, his next attempt landed in the short-side rough.
Scheffler also had three birdies and two bogeys on his card. In a tie for 79th, he is in danger of missing his first cut since August 2022; the top 65 and ties will make the weekend.
–Field Level Media
