Erik Compton, William McGirt and Tom Hoge posted 8-under-par 62s to share the first-round lead in the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.
Compton, the 35-year-old double hart transplant recipient, started at No. 10 and made his only birdie on the back nine at No. 15 before ringing up birdies on seven of the nine holes on the back–including the last four in a row.
“Kind of an unexpected round,” said Compton, who has won seven times as a pro, the biggest victory in the 2009 Mexico Open on what is now the Web.com Tour. “It was really a great ball-striking day with a lot of tap-ins and the course yielded some low scores.
“It was just put your foot down and know (it is) going to take a low number to win this week. … The birdies I made, one putt that was like nine feet and the rest of them were inside of three feet.”
McGirt also started on the back nine and carded five birdies to make the turn in 30, while Hoge made an 11-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole and sank an 11-footer at No. 18 to gain his share of the lead.
Jim Herman birdied four of the last five holes to shoot 63 and was tied for third with Derek Ernst, who birdied three in a row through No. 16, and Morgan Hoffman, who sank a 16-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole.
Ernst, who captured the 2013 Wells Fargo Championship, is the only one of the top six players on the leaderboard who has won on the PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods posted a 64 that was his best score on the PGA Tour in two years and was tied for seventh with Martin Kaymer of Germany, Carl Pettersson of Sweden and Davis L:ove III.
