Hayden Springer and Justin Lower shared the lead at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship when first-round play was suspended due to darkness Thursday in Southampton, Bermuda.
Springer and Lower shot 6-under-par 65s at Port Royal Golf Course and held a one-shot edge over Patrick Rodgers, Joseph Bramlett and Kevin Dougherty.
While Rodgers and Bramlett had completed their rounds of 66, Dougherty had one hole to play. He had just eagled the par-5 17th hole — recording his second eagle of the day — to move to 5 under par.
According to the PGA Tour’s leaderboard online, 21 players had yet to finish their rounds. The first round will conclude Friday morning and the second round will begin at the same time.
Springer’s round featured an eagle at the par-5 No. 7, and he made three birdies over his last four holes to reach 6 under.
“It’s definitely not an easy stretch,” Springer said of his finishing run. “Birdie on 15 was kind of a bonus making a long putt there. Then kind of have to just get through 16, and then 17’s gettable being downwind and was able to make birdie, good up-and-down there. And 18’s another bonus birdie, just happened to hit a good shot, used the slope and just bring it back maybe 5 or 6 feet.”
Springer became the 14th player to shoot a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour back in July with his 59 in the first round of the John Deere Classic. But he failed to capitalize with a win that week and finds himself playing the FedEx Cup Fall series to secure his PGA Tour card for next season.
The top 125 players in the points standings at the end of the fall are guaranteed full status for 2025. Springer entered the week sitting exactly at No. 125.
“It’s nice to get off to a good start” to the tournament, Springer said. “I mean, that’s where you want to be, you want to play well every day. I mean, I think I need it as much as anybody, so it’s definitely nice to do that and hopefully it will continue all week.”
Lower, like Springer, has yet to win on tour in his career. He began the week 74th in the points race. The top 50 from last summer’s playoffs are automatically qualified.
Lower’s card was bogey-free and he made his sixth and final birdie at his finishing hole, the par-4 ninth.
“It’s always nice to birdie the last,” Lower said. “The one on 18 though, I made probably (from) 21 or 22 feet, it had some bend in it pretty good, maybe four feet of break or so and I read it perfectly. Just one of those ones that you kind of dream of, perfect line, perfect speed.”
A large tie at 4-under 67 included tour veterans Kevin Kisner and Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela.
Nico Echavarria of Colombia, who won the Zozo Championship in October and tied for sixth last week at the World Wide Technology Championship, opened this week with a 2-under 69.
Defending champion Camilo Villegas, also of Colombia, struggled to a 1-over 72.
–Field Level Media
