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07/17 21:17 CDT Ben Martin scores 16 points to take the lead in the PGA Tour's
Barracuda Championship
Ben Martin scores 16 points to take the lead in the PGA Tour's Barracuda
Championship
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) --- Ben Martin scored 16 points Thursday to take a
two-point lead over David Lipsky and Nick Watney after the first round of the
Barracuda Championship, the only PGA Tour event that uses the modified
Stableford scoring system.
Players receive eight points for a double eagle, five for eagle and two for
birdie. A point is deducted for bogey and three for double bogey.
Martin rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 6-7 with birdies on Nos. 8-9 to close his
morning round at Tahoe Mountain Club, the tree-line layout that sits at an
elevation of 6,000 feet.
"To be honest, warming up on the range this morning, it's cold. I'm getting
old. It's hard to keep my body moving well," said the 37-year-old Martin, whose
lone PGA Tour came in Las Vegas in 2014. "I had very few expectations, but went
out, was hitting the ball in front of me, kind of hitting to where I was
looking and made some early putts. Saw those go in, so confident with the
putter."
Played opposite the British Open, the tournament is co-sanctioned by the
European tour. The winner gets into the PGA Championship but not the Masters.
Lipsky scored 15 points on his first nine holes, then dropped three on the
par-4 second after his approach bounced off a greenside sprinkler into trouble.
"Bounced way over the green," Lipsky said. "It was tough to make even bogey
from there. So, a little unfortunate there, but overall a good day."
He birdied the par-5 third and parred the final six. On the opening nine, he
eagled the par-5 15th and had five birdies in a 7-under 29.
The 44-year-old Watney won the last of his five PGA Tour titles in 2012.
Cameron Champ was three points back at 13 with Rico Hoey, Joel Dahmen, Danny
Walker, Dale Whitnell and Todd Clements. Andrew Putnam, the 2018 winner, was at
12 with Jackson Suber, Yuto Katsuragawa and Vince Whaley.
Max Homa lost a point, struggling alongside defending champion Nick Dunlap and
NCAA champion Michael La Sasso of Mississippi in the afternoon. Dunlap lost six
points, and Sasso --- playing on a sponsor exemption --- seven.
German twins Yannik and Jeremy Paul also got off top slow starts. Yannik has
zero points and Jeremy lost two. They played in college at Colorado.
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