Two golfers who grew up playing junior events in Southern California sit atop the leaderboard in the Fort Worth Invitational.
Kevin Na, from Diamond Bar, carded an 8-under-par 62 and took a one-stroke lead over Charley Hoffman of Poway after the first round at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 34-year-old Na, who started on the front nine, chipped in for an eagle from 92 feet on the first hole, part of a run in which he played five holes in 6-under.
“I just hit a perfect chip,” said Na, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2011 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. “I saw it go over the ridge and I was like, ‘This is going to be good … it’s going to be close.’ Then it catches the right lip and goes in. I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’
“I’ve had six birdies in a row. I think (this is) probably top three in my streaks. My best streak was I think 8-under through seven holes, at the (Bob) Hope. I like stretches like that. This course sets up nice for me. I’ve had some success here in the past. I really like coming here. … I wouldn’t miss it.”
Hoffman birdied three of the last four holes, including a 16-foot birdie putt on the last hole, in a bogey-free 63, while Andrew Putnam of Pepperdine collected eight birdies in a 64 and is tied for third with Beau Hossler of Rancho Santa Margarita, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina and Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela.
Steve Stricker, 51, the 2009 champion in Fort Worth, holed a bunker shot for an eagle in the first hole and is solo seventh at 65, while fifth-ranked Justin Rose of England shot 66 and is tied for eighth with 2015 champion Chris Kirk, Ben Martin, Kevin Tway, Shawn Stefani, Tim Herron, Alex Cejka of Germany, Rory Sabbatini of South Africa, Ben Crane and Satoshi Kodaira of Japan.
Kodaira hit the shot of the day, holing his approach from 234 yards for a double eagle on the first hole, his 10th of the round.
Sixth-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta is tied for 19th at 67, fourth-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain totaled 68 and is tied for 30th, and third-ranked Jordan Spieth, who won two years ago in Fort Worth, shot 69 and is tied for 44th.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.
