Friday 13 March 2015 07:50, UK
Brian Davis chipped in for birdie at his final hole to snatch a one-shot lead after the first round of the Valspar Championship in Florida.
The Englishman looked to be heading for a sizeable advantage over the field until he bogeyed the seventh and eighth, but he pitched in from the greenside rough at the ninth to return a six-under 65 and claim the outright lead ahead of Sean O'Hair and Ricky Barnes.
Davis, who has failed to make the weekend in three of his last four starts, found the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort to his liking early on as he birdied four of his first six holes after starting at the 10th.
He then safely negotiated the Snake Pit and converted a nice approach to 12 feet at the 18th to turn in 30, and he followed a run of four pars with further birdies at the fifth and sixth to reach seven under par.
But Davis three-putted the seventh and was unable to get up and down after missing the green at the short eighth, and he appeared in danger of dropping a third straight shot at nine until judging his chip to perfection.
"I actually hit a really good tee shot and a really good second shot at the ninth, I was surprised to see it there in the rough," he told Sky Sports 4. "It was into the grain so I could be aggressive but it actually jumped out a bit quicker than I thought and obviously (I am) delighted it hit the pin and dropped in."
Davis was happy to hit 15 greens in regulation after struggling from tee to green for much of the year, adding: "I'm delighted with the round, I hit some really good shots today. My stats probably show I'm hitting eight to 10 greens a round this season, which is not going to get it done.
"If you start hitting 14 greens the way I putt, you're going to shoot under par and that's what I did today."
O'Hair had set the early pace after an entertaining 66 which featured five birdies and two bogeys on the front nine alone, while Barnes enjoyed a run of four consecutive birdies around the turn before costing himself a share of the lead with his only bogey of the day at the 17th.
Henrik Stenson is one shot further back after a faultless 67, although he failed to build on three birdies over his first five holes as he carded 12 straight pars until breaking the sequence with a closing three at the ninth.
Patience
"I’m very pleased with the score, especially since my warm-up was a little bit all over the place,” Stenson said. “Then I got on the golf course, and gave myself five straight birdie chances. Kind of a great start.
“Normally, when I’m playing well, I’m a pretty strong long iron player and middle irons. I'm pleased with the day’s work. I kept my patience and kept my game plan. All in all, a good day.
"I come in here trying to prepare for Augusta as well and this is a great test for that. To just keep hitting your spots and stay patient and I did that all day and I got rewarded for it. I'm going to try the same for the next three days and, of course, try and hit the shots. Even though my swing wasn't on today I still picked my targets and tried the best I could.
"I hit some good shots, obviously, and the other ones I missed in the right places which is key here."
Stenson shares fourth with Alex Cejka, who won his first PGA Tour title in his 287th start in last week's Puerto Rico Open, while Brendon de Jonge also fired a 67 and produced the shot of the day when he holed his 126-yard third for an eagle at the 14th.
American trio Justin Thomas, Derek Ernst and Nicolas Thompson are also four under, while Ian Poulter's encouraging form continued as he opened with a 68 featuring six birdies and three dropped shots.
Former Masters champion Adam Scott, making only his second start of the year, was three under with five to play only to bogey four consecutive holes, although he salvaged a 71 with a birdie at the ninth.
Lee Westwood offset two birdies with a pair of bogeys, while fellow Englishmen Luke Donald (72) and Justin Rose (74) face a tough task to make the halfway cut.
Live coverage of the second round at Innisbrook begins Friday at 7pm on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
