CHARLOTTE: Self-deprecating Texan John Peterson recorded consecutive eagles for the first time in his career to vault to the first-round lead at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday.
Pity so few people saw the rare feat.
Few of the thousands who turned up to follow Tiger Woods bothered hanging around afterwards to watch Peterson, who finished in some style playing in peace and quiet in one of the final groups of the day.
He holed a 55-foot bunker shot at the par-five seventh (his 16th hole), and went even better by holing a wedge shot from 107 yards at the par-four eighth. He was rewarded with a six-under-par 65 at Quail Hollow, and a two-stroke lead.
“Pretty uneventful hole-outs, but they went in nonetheless,” Peterson told reporters.
“I’ve never made back-to-back eagles in a tournament and I don’t think I’ve done it in practice.”
Peterson nearly made it three straight eagles when his approach shot from the rough at the par-four ninth honed in on the pin, but the law of averages caught up with him and the ball did not drop.
Peterson, 29, is playing on what the PGA Tour call a “medical extension” after having hand surgery two years ago.
He has to compile about $300,000 in earnings this week and in his next two starts to regain full exempt status.
Woods, meanwhile, had back-to-back birdies on the holes where Peterson made his eagles, getting him to 1 under. But he hit a poor wedge that led to bogey on the par-5 10th, atoned for that with a birdie on the par-5 15th, only to give back that shot with a three-putt bogey from 15 feet on No. 16.
It was a tough adjustment for Woods and everyone else. The greens were firm, with balls bouncing high upon landing. But the surface was a little on the slow side, and several players left putts extraordinarily short.
“I hit the ball fine today,” Woods said. “If I just make a few putts, I should be 2- or 3-under par, which is fine. I just didn’t make anything today.”
He was tied for 35th, his worst position after the opening round since he was tied for 61st at Riviera in February.
Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2018
