Jason Day and Cameron Tringale tied the tournament record with a 17-under 55 in the first-round scramble to take a two-stroke lead over defending champions Matt Kuchar and Harris English in the Franklin Templeton Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples. Fla.
Tringale (pictured), from Laguna Nigel, and Day made eagles on the 13th and 14th holes while equaling the tournament scramble record which was accomplished three times previously, the last by tournament host Greg Norman and Steve Elkington in 2005.
“It was a good team effort,” Day said. “For Cam to go up there and hit the fairway took a lot of stress off my shoulders, and then I could just go up there and hit the driver as close to the green as I could.
“We hit a lot of shots close and had a lot of opportunities, and Cam putted great.”
Said Tringale: “We haven’t really talked about our strategy (for the next two days); we’re just going to take it one day at a time. We might go have a little talk about it, but I think I’ll keep hitting first and giving Jason a chance (to hit a big drive).”
Kuchar and English birdied 14 of their last 15 holes to open with a 57, while the teams of Keegan Bradley-Camilo Villegas, Graeme McDowell-Gary Woodland and Ryan Palmer-Jimmy Walker came in at 59 to tie for third.
All 12 teams in the field were 11-under or better.
The teams will play a modified alternate shot on Friday and close with a better-ball round on Saturday.
