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FARMINGTON — If Thursday’s opening round is an indicator of the Web.com Tour’s Utah Championship, James Driscoll’s low round may not hold up through the weekend.
For now, though, the Boston native will count his successes.
Driscoll shot a scintillating 9-under-par 62 to lead 120 golfers under par in Thursday’s opening round at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington. He’s tied with Matt Atkins for the top spot on the leaderboard with three rounds remaining.
“The greens are great. They were really smooth … and when you have a morning tee time with wedges in your hands, that’s going to be the nature of the game,” said Driscoll, one of 121 golfers competing for the $700,000 purse. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m not leading after today.”
Driscoll carded 10 birdies with just one bogey after teeing off in the morning, when the greens played smooth and before Thursday’s 99-degree highs could scorch the course. He averaged just 1.3 puts during the 18 holes.
“Any time you shoot a round like that, it’s all about the putter,” Driscoll said. “I set myself up with good iron shots … and kept it in play enough to give myself a lot of chances.”
Kyle Wilshire, Brice Garnett and Wes Roach are tied for third at 7-under 64.
Alpine’s Joe Parkinson shot 1-over 72 Thursday. He qualified with a 63 in a Monday qualifier at TalonsCove Golf Course.
Salt Lake City’s Gipper Finau, the younger brother of PGA Tour regular Tony Finau, shot 4-over 75 Thursday.
Play resumes Friday at 7 a.m. MT. Finau will tee off at 2:15 p.m.
