SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Hayden Springer birdied three of his final four holes for a 6-under 65 on Thursday, sharing a share of the lead with Justin Lower before the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship ended due to the darkness did not end.
Springer needed such a start with only two tournaments left in the PGA Tour season. He came to Bermuda in 125th place in the FedEx Cup, the requirement to retain full status for 2025.
Lower sits safely in 95th place and brought good form to the mid-Atlantic island after finishing second in Mexico last week.
They were one shot ahead of Patrick Rodgers, Joseph Bramlett and Kevin Dougherty, who still had to play the 18th hole at Port Royal to complete his round.
Springer is doing his best not to think about his position in the FedEx Cup standings.
“It's nice to have a good start. I mean, that’s where you want to be, you want to play well every day,” he said. “I think I need it as much as anyone else, so it's definitely nice to do that and hopefully it will continue all week.”
Springer has experience with a quick start. He posted one of two sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour this year when he opened with a 59 at the John Deere Classic in July. He followed with a 71 to finish in a tie for seventh place.
“There’s still so much golf to play, it’s easy to outdo yourself,” Springer said. “That’s really the most important thing I learned at John Deere. I was a little confused on my back nine on Friday. “Don’t think about it too much and play golf.”
Lower was in the first group before Port Royal's typically strong winds picked up a bit. He started on the back nine and played bogey-free.
Springer did well to catch him. On the 15th, he hit a long birdie putt that he called a bonus, making it through the daunting par-3 16th. along the sea, took advantage of the tailwind on the par-5 17th. and then scored a great roll off the slope on the 18th, the ball landing about 6 feet away for a final birdie.
Lower can only hope that recent history is on his side. A year ago, Camilo Villegas finished second in Mexico, followed by a win in Bermuda.
“That was definitely on my mind,” Lower said. “But we still have 54 holes to go. Apart from tomorrow we have very unpredictable weather – Saturday looks pretty miserable from what I've seen. But yes, I feel very good after the last week and I'm a little determined after arriving.” a shot too short. I just do what I can.
The 67-year-old group also included Kevin Kisner, who has had a tough year as he tries to get his game together while spending time in the NBC broadcast booth. Also at 67, Jhonattan Vegas was one of only three players in the field to have already secured a spot in the Masters.
Vegas gambled, making just one par on his first 12 holes – seven birdies and four bogeys on the other holes – until he calmed down.
“It was definitely kind of a roller coaster ride,” Vegas said.
Lucas Glover, Bermuda's only player in the world's top 50 at No. 48, was in the big group at 68.
Twenty-one players will complete their first rounds on Friday morning before quickly moving on to the next round.
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