Francesco Molinari posted a 6-under 66 in the opening-round of the Wells Fargo Championship, and leads by one over a foursome of Alex Noren, J.B. Holmes, Grayson Murray, and Brian Campbell who are all at 5-under.
Molinari bogeyed the second hole and was 1-over after two holes, but then dropped 5 birdies over the next seven holes to make the turn at 4-under. On the back, the 34-year-old Italian was even-par through the first 5 holes (10-14), but then closed strong with two birdies down the stretch, including a chip-in on 18.
Sporty finish. This chip-in gave @F_Molinari a one-shot lead at Eagle Point. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/VnSKxAQY8u
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 4, 2017
The threesome of Ben Martin, Ken Duke and Seamus Power are tied for 6th, and just two shots back at 4-under par.
Rounding out the top-10 is a group of six players tied for 9th at 3-under, including red-hot Jon Rahm.
Dustin Johnson, playing for the first time since incurring a freak back injury at the Masters, had a solid day, overall, finishing with a 2-under 70. And 5-time major winner, Phil Mickelson, posted a 1-under 71, with 5 birdies, 4 bogeys, and one amazing par on the final hole (see below).
Top 10
1 Francesco Molinari -6
T2 Alex Noren -5
T2 J.B. Holmes -5
T2 Brian Campbell -5
T2 Grayson Murray -5
T6 Ben Martin -4
T6 Ken Duke -4
T6 Seamus Power -4
T9 Shawn Stefani -3
T9 Seung-yul Noh -3
T9 Chris Kirk -3
T9 Jon Rahm -3
T9 Rafa Cabrera Bello -3
T9 Jonathan Randolph -3
Notables
T15 Dustin Johnson -2
T15 Smylie Kaufman -2
T15 Patrick Reed -2
T15 Davis Love III -2
T15 Sam Saunders -2
T31 Zach Johnson -1
T31 Phil Mickelson -1
T31 Adam Scott -1
T31 Graeme McDowell -1
T31 Daniel Berger -1
Hole of the Day
Phil Mickelson with a ho-hum par-5. Three shots into the hazard, 0 shots hit the fairway, 1 putt for par.
Just a ho-hum par for Lefty. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/xhDhAC3XVg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 4, 2017
Quotable
“Since I hadn’t played in so long, I’m happy with the way I played. I didn’t score that great, didn’t really hole that many putts, but other than that, I played really well. I think I hit 16 greens and I hit the ball great.”
-Dustin Johnson, 2-under, T
Full Leaderboard
[table id=258 /]Credit: PGA Tour, Getty Images
[table id=258 /]
