LA QUINTA. Calif. — PGA Tour rookie Davis ThompsonPlayed his first six holes in 7 under, with consecutive eagles. He also shot a career low 10-under 62 at La Quinta Thursday to take a lead of two strokes over. Jon RahmAnd four others after the second round of The American Express.
Thompson, 23, got off to a great start by birdieing three holes. He then made eagle on both the par-5s on the front nine (Nos. 5, and 6. He turned in 8-under 28. This is the lowest front-nine score La Quinta has ever recorded.
Thompson was two ahead of Rahm thanks to a flawless start on a sunny afternoon in the Southern California desert. Tyler Duncan, Taylor Montgomery, Matti Schmid Sam Burns.
Thompson finished with a birdie. Thompson said that he had a good start and then just coasted. Its always nice to see some putts come in early and give me confidence to keep it rolling.
Rahm, worlds fourth-ranked golfer, won at Kapalua just two weeks ago. He shot 64 at La Quinta. One of three courses being used for the three rounds. After the 54-hole cut, the final round at PGA Wests Stadium Course will be played.
I will be picky about many things. Rahm said that it was a great way to start the tournament. You cant win it on this course of golf, but you can certainly fall off the pace. It was a solid start, great round of golf, and great putting out there. Im hoping to keep that up for the rest of the week and feel a little better on the green.
Five of the top seven world players are represented in this field, as well as 10 of the top twenty.
Sixth-ranked Xander SchauffeleAfter undergoing tests on his back muscle spasms, he was in the field with a group of nine at 7 under 65. He also eagled No. 5 at La Quinta.
Second-ranked Scottie SchefflerNo. 5 Patrick CantlayEach shot 68 at La Quinta and No. 7 Will ZalatorisAt the Nicklaus Tournament Course, I had a 3-under-69.
Thompson stated that he had a good warmup, and then had good results on the holes where his eagle was made.
I actually missed the green at 6 and chipped in. He said that he had two good swings and had a nice chip and putt.
Thompson said that this was his first round of competitive golf at PGA West. However, he did stop by the Nicklaus course to play before heading to Hawaii for last week’s Sony Open. Thompson said that he was familiar with the course and will be playing it on Friday.
Rickie FowlerLa Quinta: shot 68. Fowler is playing in his first tournament of 2023. He has two top 10s in the fall and was runner-up at the Zozo Championship, Japan.
