SAN ANTONIO — Sam Ryder wasn’t certain his neck would really feel adequate for him to play Thursday within the Valero Texas Open. He discovered a swing and hardly missed a putt on his approach to a 9-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Keith Mitchell within the closing match earlier than the Masters.
Ryder one-putted 11 of his final 12 holes — seven of them for birdie, together with the ultimate three. He holed a 25-foot putt on the sixteenth, a 12-footer on the seventeenth after which hit a wedge to a foot on the par-5 closing gap on the TPC San Antonio.
“I used to be simply making an attempt to get a really feel for a way I might swing,” mentioned Ryder, who missed Wednesday’s pro-am after feeling a twinge on the base of his neck. “I believe it helped me keep inside myself immediately. I used to be simply pleased to be taking part in.”
Mitchell performed bogey-free within the morning for a 64, highlighted by a 3-wood from 286 yards that stopped rolling about 3 ft from the pin for a tap-in eagle on the par-5 eighth.
Former Open Championship winner Brian Harman had a 66.
Among the many group at 67 was Jordan Spieth, whose spherical included a drive on seventeenth that landed on arduous pan with a rock embedded about 4 inches behind his golf ball. He made clear contact and hit it to 12 ft and made the birdie putt.
Ryder, who has made the lower in all 9 of his tournaments this yr, stayed in his room and rested all Wednesday due to the neck harm, then confirmed up on the course about three hours earlier than his tee time on Thursday to see if he might swing.
He could be amongst those that might go straight to the Masters subsequent week if he had been to win, one thing he has but to do on the PGA Tour.
“I figured something below par is all the time normally fairly good out right here,” Ryder mentioned. “Did not go in with any intentions of making an attempt to be extra aggressive or something like that, was simply making an attempt to place one foot in entrance of the subsequent and have a stable spherical, hit fairways and as many greens as attainable.”
Mitchell is not within the Masters, both, and it has been six years since his lone PGA Tour victory. This was the third time this yr Mitchell has opened with 65 or decrease. It is ending it out that has been the issue.
“My sport’s been trending,” Mitchell mentioned. “I might wish to put some stable rounds collectively. Hopefully, it is this week. I really feel like my scores have been displaying a minimum of within the first couple rounds currently that my sport’s the place it must be and simply going to attempt to stack ’em all up this week.”
As for that eagle, Mitchell says it was a mixture of a great swing and luck.
“I figured if I hit it good it might a minimum of cowl the entrance after which type of roll out to the bottom of the slope,” Mitchell mentioned. “That pin is hard even with a wedge, it is robust from across the inexperienced, so the truth that I bought the ball to cease up there, I would not name it on accident — it was the place I used to be aiming — however the truth that it simply ended up being there’s very lucky.”
Harman has gone 15 straight tournaments with no prime 10 courting to June, and he has solely two different prime 10s since his Open Championship win at Hoylake in 2023. He is on the verge of falling out of the highest 50 on the earth.
“My good days have been adequate to win and my unhealthy days have been not nice,” Harman mentioned. “You have to discover a means on these days, and that is normally a robust a part of my sport is gritting it out, determining a approach to get it performed.”
Max Homa, in the meantime, was in peril of lacking one other lower to increase his droop. He introduced he has parted with caddie Joe Greiner, after leaving his swing coach final fall.
#Sam #Ryder #takes #putts #leads #Texas #Open
