Walker takes two-shot lead at Bridgestone

AVONDALE, La. – They call it ham and egging when a team cleverly splits their good holes between them. Chez Reavie and Lucas Glover timed it perfectly with six birdies each to send their team to a blistering opening 12-under 60 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Thursday and a share of the lead with Chinese duo Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou. The key? Making a ton of putts after solid communication. While most teams leave each individual to do their own thing in Four-ball play, this pair picked each other’s brains. And it worked. “We read them right early, and that just gave us good feeling for the rest of the day. Chez birdied the first two; we were dead on with both the reads, so we just kept it going,â€� former U.S. Open winner Glover explained. “We changed maybe a ball or two in a direction one way or the other and that was it. We were pretty right on. Luckily we were hitting our lines also.â€� The pair combined last season for a T39 finish and learned plenty from the experience. Joining back together again they’ve taken an analytical approach, as well as putting in plenty of practice. “I think we’re both really good ball strikers. We wanted to strategize properly, and so I would lay back in some of the fairways and let him get more aggressive on the tees,â€� Reavie explained. “We’re just very comfortable helping each other out. If I tell him something and he’s not all in, then he’s going to do what he wants and I’m completely good with it, and vice versa.â€� They expect to keep the roll going in alternate shot on Friday after getting in a solid 27 holes of practice in the format over the past few days. NOTABLES Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou have been struggling a little in their rookie seasons on the PGA TOUR, but the Chinese pioneers had no such issues Thursday. Zhang, who sits 128th in the FedExCup and Dou, who is a distant 215th, came flying home in the final group to join the lead at 12-under 60. Despite being in the culinary town of New Orleans, the pair said they felt at home after finding a Chinese market and buying supplies. Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown are still a little rankled by their playoff loss to Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt a year ago, so their 10-under 62 to open this year was certainly a step in the right direction for redemption. They sit T3. “Obviously we didn’t finish it off the way we wanted to, so we’re coming back for a little revenge this week,â€� Kisner said. Tony Finau and Daniel Summerhays have been friends a long time. They share the same coach (Daniel’s brother Boyd) and Utah roots. Summerhays opened their round with two birdies and closed it the same way to help them to a 10-under 62 and T3 position. Finau – in his return from an ankle injury had six birdies of his own. “I think it’s really important to get off to a good start in best ball,â€� Summerhays said. “Last year we started alternate shot and you always felt like you were behind the eight ball, because it is a more difficult format. So to come out and really play good golf as a team I think that sets us up really nice for tomorrow.â€� Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley are looking to continue the trend of international winners at the Zurich Classic. The English pair and good mates fired up an impressive 10-under 62 to be T3. Both have won on the European Tour this season and are looking to now notch up a PGA TOUR win. “It’s been kind of the best start to the year I’ve ever had,â€� Paisley said. “It’s been amazing. Hopefully I can just kind of keep it going. Maybe get my card over here. That would be great.â€� Jim Furyk and David Duval turned back the clock with an impressive 7-under 65. Duval, who has played just seven TOUR events in the last three seasons and hasn’t made a cut since 2015, produced four of the seven birdies. “It’s a joy,â€� the former World No. 1 Duval said. “The competition is different. I certainly miss it. I’d like to play a little bit more than I do.â€� Rob Oppenheim created a huge highlight with an albatross on the par-5 7th hole. His hole-out from 262 yards helped his partnership with Nick Lashley open with an 8-under 64 to be T11. Roundup: Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer sit T32 after a 6-under 66. Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt started their title defense with a respectable 7-under 65 to be tied 21st. Patrick Reed, in his first start since winning the Masters is T21 after a 65 with Patrick Cantlay. FedExCup leader Justin Thomas and Bud Cauley struggled to a 2-under 70 to be T77 of 80 teams. QUOTABLES Going to try and look good so we feel good to play good.When you got on so well and you feel comfortable, it makes a big difference out there.He’s the par-3 assassin, so he gets three Par-3s and I get to putt them.Sometimes simplicity is huge in this game. SUPERLATIVES Low Round: 12-under 60 from the Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover and Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou teams. Hardest Hole: Par-4 15th played as the only hole over par at 4.013. It yielded just five birdies. Easiest Hole: The Par-5 7th averaged at 4.238 and had three eagles and 54 birdies. SHOT OF THE DAY

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In March, Sandra Hughes was enjoying the Florida sunshine, walking with friends and watching her son play golf. So much has changed since then. Sandra’s son is PGA TOUR player Mackenzie Hughes. He made the cut on the number at The Honda Classic but shot back-to-back 66s to charge up the leaderboard and finish second. It matched his best finish in the 3-1/2 years since his win at The RSM Classic, and it was much-needed. Mackenzie arrived at PGA National having missed nine of 11 cuts this season. Now, as he sits at home in Charlotte, he doesn’t have to add keeping his job to the list of worries that are on everyone’s mind. But other things occupy his thoughts. His mother is one of them. Sandra Hughes has been a nurse for more than 30 years. She’s now a vascular access nurse in Canada at Hamilton Health Sciences in Hamilton, Ontario. Two weeks after she returned home from The Honda Classic, her hospital started canceling elective surgeries and restricting visitor access. They were preparing for the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. “The last few weeks have been ever-changing,� she said via email. “I work closely with the oncology patients, whose treatments are time-sensitive and must continue. Healthcare workers, all of us, have been very busy. The demand for space, supplies and other resources has at times been overwhelming.� Sandra said that nurses at HHS are self-screening before coming into work each day, masks are being worn and, like many places, personal protective equipment is a hot topic. Ontario is just across the border from New York but, like many places, has not seen a similar flood of coronavirus cases. The province of Ontario, with a population of more than 14 million, has had approximately 14,000 cases as of Friday. Hamilton Health Sciences’ website said Friday it was caring for 13 patients with COVID-19. “In Ontario, we don’t have the number of cases that have overflowed hospitals, but they are preparing for the worst,� Mackenzie said. “There’s still always a need for the face masks and cleaning supplies. It’s OK for right now, but I just keep hoping and praying it doesn’t get too chaotic up there.� His mother’s job means that the pandemic hits closer to home for Hughes than many of his PGA TOUR peers. But he also has confidence in his mother’s ability to handle the challenges. “I think about her often and worry about her but also know she’s a trained professional,� Mackenzie said. “She’s knows this is her duty and her task right now. She’s not complained once or ever made any excuses. That’s what I’ve come to expect from her. Nonetheless, it still makes it very heroic what she does, and all the nurses and doctors.� Mackenzie started playing golf when he was 6 years old, following his parents, Jeff and Sandra, to the course after they decided to pick up the game. He credits both his parents for helping him throughout his career, but he calls Sandra his “biggest supporter.� “I always come off the phone with her feeling better about myself and what I am doing,� Mackenzie said. “She would reaffirm that I had what it took and to be patient and keep believing. She was always a huge part of me getting through those tough times and slumps.� He points to the 2016 season on the Korn Ferry Tour, when he started July ranked 140th on the money list. A late-season surge got him into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where he earned his card. He won The RSM Classic two months later. Mackenzie doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that Sandra was in attendance for both his victory and this year’s Honda Classic. “I don’t know what it is about mothers. They bring a sense of ease and comfort,� he said. He returned the favor by sending a tweet earlier this month, seeking donations for Hamilton Health Sciences’ COVID response team. He was touched when his friend David Markle texted Mackenzie a screenshot of his donation. Markle, who also played golf for Kent State, helped recruit Hughes to the school. Markle now caddies on TOUR for Michael Gligic. Mackenzie was touched that he donated considering his job is on hold until the PGA TOUR season resumes. Hughes looks forward to that day when the TOUR resumes and is glad that a prospective schedule is on paper. “I know, for myself, it’s been a great time to connect with family on a deeper level and it certainly reminds us of what’s actually important in our lives,� Mackenzie said.

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Casey Martin, the Oregon golf coach who successfully sued the PGA Tour for the right to use a cart because of a rare circulatory disease, had his right leg amputated in what he told Golf Digest was always going to be “my destiny.”

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