South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul grabbed the clubhouse lead with an 11-under-par 60 in Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson tournament, matching the event’s 18-hole record.
And he did it despite suffering a broken driver head on the 12th hole in his bogey-free round at TPC Craig Ranch in suburban Dallas.
“Everything was going amazing,” Noh said. “Off the tee, I missed two drivers because the crack of the driver head. Except two shots off the tee, everything went perfectly.
“I’m really happy for my career low on the PGA Tour. One shot missed to 59, but I’m really happy with that.”
Noh, the 2010 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, captured his only PGA Tour title at the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, three years before it shifted to its current pairs format.
He had a three-shot lead over Australian Adam Scott and Chian’s Dou Zecheng.
Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, posted his best opening round on the PGA Tour since a 62 at the 2014 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
World No 2 Scottie Scheffler headlined a group on 64 that also included Aussie veteran Jason Day and Americans Luke List, Richy Werenski, Scott Piercy and Ryan Palmer.
South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout shot a first-round 68 that included four birdies and a bogie. Countrymen Garrick Higgo, Dylan Frittelli, Erik van Rooyen and MJ Daffue carded 69, 70, 71 and 73 respectively.
Noh’s bogey-free round matched the Byron Nelson record shared by four other players and most recently achieved previously by Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz in last year’s opening round.
The most recent prior 60 on Tour was by American Patrick Cantlay in the third round of last October’s Shriners Children’s Open.
Equipment issues for the clubhouse leader @ATTByronNelson.
S.Y. Noh's driver was damaged mid-round @TPCCraigRanch. pic.twitter.com/HKNWtlXEKT
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 11, 2023
After a birdie at the 11th hole, Noh smashed his tee shot well to the right of a cart path at the par-four 12th, Noh checked his driver head.
“When I hit on 12, I’m swinging so nicely, but keep going 70 yards right,” Noh said. “So I just look at the driver and it had the crack in it.”
He salvaged par after dropping his approach within four feet of the hole, but rules officials said with just a crack he couldn’t replace the driver.
Noh sent his next tee shot way left of the 13th fairway and then took the club out of play before saving par again with a six-foot putt before obtaining a replacement driver head.
“I’m hitting one more driver on 13, and then finally it’s gone, my driver head,” Noh said. “That’s why after the 13th we got the replacement.”
Noh, who said he had never suffered a cracked driver head before, went with a driver over a 3-wood at 13 despite the crack.
“I’m just trying to hit driver,” he said. “It’s just going like 50 yards left, but I still make the par, so I’m lucky with that.”
After birdies at the par-four 14th and par-three 15th, Noh screwed a new driver head into place at the 16th hole, a repair allowed under golf rules.
Noh made a 27-foot par putt at the 16th, then sank a 34-foot birdie at the par-three 17th and a nine-foot birdie at the par-five 18th.
The 31-year-old opened with back-to-back birdies, did it again at the 5th and 6th holes and closed the front nine with an eagle at the par-five 9th, reaching the green in two and sinking an eight-foot eagle putt.
© Agence France-Presse
