Shawn Stefani holed out for an eagle on the ninth hole while shooting 5-under-par 65 to tie Seung-Yul Noh of South Korea and Tom Hoge for the lead after the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn.
Stefani, who has three pro victories but none on the PGA Tour, knocked his second shot from 139 yards into the hole for the eagle and added six birdies–three on each nine.
“It was nice to see one go in for a change,” said Stefani, who has made the cut only eight times in 20 events this season. “Most of them have been hitting and spinning back going in the water this year. It is nice to kind of see some balls going my way and shots going my way for the day.”
Noh, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, birdied two of the last three holes to grab his share of the top spot, while Hoge, whose lone pro victory came in the 2011 Players Cup on the PGA Canadian Tour, played a bogey-free round that included three straight birdies through No. 6.
Dustin Johnson, the 2012 FedEx St. Jude champion, sank a 10-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole in a 66 to tie for third with Steve Stricker, Jamie Donaldson of Wales, Colt Knost, Brian Gay and Miguel Angel Carballo of Argentina.
Justin Leonard, who has won twice at TPC Southwind, carded a 67 and was tied for 10th with Retief Goosen of South Africa, Brian Stuard, Daniel Berger, Brett Stegmaier, Scott Stallings, Wes Roach and Henrik Norlander of Sweden.
Phil Mickelson was tied for 40th after a 70.
