Among those who made it through the opening round of The RSM Classic, Cameron Young shares the lead with Eric Cole and Davis Thompson at 6-under 66. Young birdied his final hole in the dark and maintained composure through the worst of the weather on Thursday.
Rain caused puddles on the green and small pools in the bunkers at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside and Plantation courses, prompting a one-hour delay in the morning and a 2.5-hour delay in the afternoon.
Out of the 156 players, only 65 finished the first round. It was supposed to restart on Friday morning, and because the rest of the week is looking to be sunny, it shouldn’t take long to get the tournament back on track.
The Plantation course is a par 72. Young, Cole, and Thompson, the son of RSM Classic event director Todd Thompson all played it.
Matt Kuchar, who nearly guaranteed his place in two $20 million tournaments early in the upcoming year with his runner-up performance in Bermuda last week, was at 5-under 65 after making birdies on 3 of his final 4 holes on the wind-exposed Seaside course.
Cole is a strong contender for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, and a strong showing in the season’s penultimate event might boost his standing in the global rankings and allow him to compete in the Masters.
Cole and Young qualified for all of the Signature Events with $20 million purses for next year since they were in the top 50 of the FedExCup.
Young is off to a strong start as he looks to win his first PGA TOUR title. A few weeks ago, he played in Mexico to start breaking off some rust. He has competed sufficiently in his second year on the TOUR, especially in the majors, to be ranked No. 18 in the world.
It was getting so dark after the delays that it was difficult to read the break, so his final birdie putt from 8 feet was pleasing.
Regarding the par, he achieved on his fourth hole, Plantation’s No. 13, when he hit his tee shot into the water.
He remarked, “That was like 12 hours ago.” “I think I forgot,”
The crucial element, which he recalled, was dropping his penalty shot, slicing a 5-iron onto the green, and making the putt. After making 4 more birdies in the next 5 holes, he held on as the rain got really heavy.
“On 4, the par 5, we had the worst of it. I hit about the best drive and 3-iron I could have to still have about 125 yards left, which doesn’t happen very frequently. It’s already like 625 or something. That hole was most likely playing about 750.” Young said.
For most of the day, it was intermittent before the bulk of the game started.
Playing alongside Young, Ludvig Åberg finished with 14 pars, 3 birdies, and an eagle late in his foursome for a 5-under 67. Brian Harman, the Open Champion who nearly won at Sea Island the previous year, had to make do with a 71 at Plantation.
Russell Knox, who is ranked 146th in the FedExCup, was one of the early starters and opened with a 66 on the Seaside course. For the next year, only the top 125 earn full PGA TOUR cards. At the very least, the top 150 have conditional status.
“I’ve joked with my family that I’m a world-class player 80% of the time and a 20-handicap the other 20%. I can’t stand those times anymore. I’m in this situation because I drove the ball the worst I have ever driven it this year. To be honest, I’ve played very well the rest of the way. It has therefore been challenging, but it is also not meant to be simple.” Knox said.
