Defending champion Jonas Blixt of Sweden, carded a 6-under-par 64 to take a one-stroke leader over eight players after the first round of the Greenbrier Classic on the Old White TPC at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
The 30-year-old Blixt, who played college golf at Florida State, started at No. 10 and collected eight birdies, including six on the front nine, with four in a row coming through No. 1.
“I like this course because it reminds me of the one I grew up on,” said Blixt, whose other PGA Tour victory came in the 2012 Frys.com Open. “It’s not too windy and it’s tree-lined. There’s a lot of room out there, not many out of bounds stakes, so you can be aggressive.
“I hit the ball well made a lot of birdies and had some good putts. But you have to stay aggressive and go low because it’s four rounds and there are a lot of guys who can go low and beat you.”
Patrick Rodgers, the rookie from Stanford playing in his third event as a pro, holed his second shot from 118 yards on the first hole and added four birdies to tie for second at 65 with James Hahn of Alameda and Cal, Jason Bohn, Joe Durant, D.A. Points, Chris Kirk, Jim Renner and Danny Lee of New Zealand.
Steve Stricker shot 66 and was in a tie for 10th that included Kevin Na of Diamond Bar and Pat Perez of San Diego.
