Hayden Springer birdied three of his last four holes Thursday for a 6-under 65, tying Justin Lower for the lead when the Butterfield Bermuda Championship’s first round was cut short by nightfall.
Springer needed a start like this with only two tournaments remaining in the PGA TOUR season. He arrived in Bermuda ranked No. 125 in the FedExCup Fall, the threshold for maintaining full status till 2025.
Lower is safe at No. 95 and arrived on the island in the midst of the Atlantic in strong form after finishing second in Mexico the week before.
They were one shot ahead of Patrick Rodgers, Joseph Bramlett, and Kevin Dougherty, who still needed to play the 18th hole on Port Royal Golf Course to complete his round.
Springer is attempting to ignore his place in the FedExCup standings.
“It is nice to get off to a solid start. I mean, that’s where you want to be, and you want to perform well every day. I think I need it as much as everybody else, so it’s really great to do it, and hopefully it will last all week.” he said.
Springer has expertise with a quick start. He had one of two sub-60 rounds on the PGA TOUR this year, opening with a 59 at the John Deere Classic in July. He responded with a 71 and finished tied for 6th.
“With so much golf left, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself. That was the major thing I learnt at John Deere. On Friday, I got a little rattled on the back nine. I began to reflect on it and my position. I think the most important thing is to not think about it too much and just play golf.” Springer said.
Lower was in the first group before the expected high wind at Port Royal picked up. He started on the back nine and went bogey-free.
Springer performed well in catching him. He sunk a long birdie putt on the 15th, which he referred to as a bonus, made it through the dangerous par-3 16th near the ocean, took advantage of the wind at his back on the par-5 17th, and then got a wonderful roll down the slope at the 18th, with the ball lying about 6 feet away for a birdie.
Lower can only hope that recent history is on his side. Camilo Villegas finished second in Mexico last year before winning in Bermuda.
“It definitely crossed my thoughts. But there are still 54 holes to play. We have highly unpredictable weather, with the exception of tomorrow Saturday, which appears to be quite dismal. But, yeah, I’m feeling great after last week and a little driven after coming up short. Just doing what I can.” Lower said.
The group at 67 featured Kevin Kisner, who is having a difficult year as he tries to figure out his game while working in the NBC broadcast booth. Jhonattan Vegas, at 67, was one of just three players in the field who had already secured a spot in the Masters.
Vegas was all over the place, shooting only 1 par in his first 12 holes, 7 birdies, and 4 bogeys on the rest before settling in.
“It was a bit of a roller coaster.” Vegas said.
Lucas Glover, Bermuda’s only player in the top 50, was 68th in the large group.
21 players will finish their first rounds Friday morning before a quick turnaround to the following round.
