TIED: Rose and Varner III Lead Going Into Friday’s Action

The morning wave at Colonial went low as the afternoon groups fought a tougher breeze throughout their round. The energy level around the course seemed down, but that’s expected with the absence of fans. Long putts were met with silence and players clapped for their group-mates to fill the dead air. 

Justin Rose and Harold Varner III share the lead heading into Friday at -7. Rosey seemed to benefit from the lay-off, as his swing looked perfectly synced. The main concern of his game has always been his putting, but his stroke was great today. Varner finished his round bogey-free, and looks to keep that trend on Friday. 

PGA Tour golf is back, and after 18 holes at Colonial, it’s Justin Rose and Harold Varner III tied atop the leaderboard: https://t.co/3CvdkqXjYb pic.twitter.com/jdHDFIt77Z

— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) June 11, 2020

It’s hard to recognize Bryson DeChambeau after gaining another 20 pounds in the last 3 months. He doesn’t look like a golfer, he looks like he should be catching passes from Tom Brady. He was murdering balls with his driver; 354, 333, 337, 322, are just a few examples. Bryson fired a 65 and will tee off Friday afternoon at -5. 

2019 US Open Champion Gary Woodland also finished -5, doing all his damage after making the turn. He birdied 5 out of his last 7, coming home after a very mundane first 11 holes. Another big name struggled early, but wasn’t able to turn it around. Dustin Johnson couldn’t get his flat stick going, which is becoming a familiar story. He played a Taylormade Truss putter, a change from his Spider X that he was using during the Taylormade Charity Match.  He will tee off Friday at +1.

Dustin Johnson is using a @TaylorMadeGolf Truss TM1 putter at Colonial on Thursday. My story on it from Feb. https://t.co/zSoPdFyxUq pic.twitter.com/CUIkQfKE3u

— David Dusek (@Golfweek_Dusek) June 11, 2020

Collin Morikawa highlighted the afternoon wave with phenomenal play. The wind wasn’t drastic, but it was enough to make it challenging, and he fought through his entire round. Justin Thomas also played well in the afternoon conditions, as his game seemed to be pretty polished despite the break. Both shot -6. 

A nice surprise was the play of Jordan Spieth. He has struggled with every part of his game for well over a year now and has fallen down to 56th in the world. Using a vintage Spieth putter, he showed more control over the golf ball at Colonial, while pouring them in from all over the property. Spieth will enter Friday at -5.

World No. 1, Rory Mcilroy, made his tournament debut today at Colonial and played around the course well. He made the turn at 33 after birdies on 8 and 9, seeming to be comfortable with his putter. His wedges were disappointing today as he missed many high quality chances from the middle of the fairway. He finished with a 68, -2. 

As for the highlight of the first round? Check out Sung Kang with the casual ace:

Imagine being this composed after an ACE?!

Just another day at the office for Sung Kang. pic.twitter.com/8bgZmJbkrG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 11, 2020

Find the full scoring break-down of the Thursday round here

Weather Forecast for Friday

Colonial is expected to stay dry again on Friday, but the heat doesn’t go anywhere. The high sits at 94, and the wind shouldn’t blow over 10 mph. 

The morning featured groups (Brooks, Rory, Rahm and Rickie, JT, Spieth) tee off at 7:56 and 7:45 local time, respectively. Stay safe everyone, and enjoy the PGA Tour action tomorrow.

Cover Image Via Instagram