Thursday’s first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is complete. Below is a brief recap and real-time updates. Join the first-round discussion by filling out the form below.
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QUICK RECAP: ROUND 1
FORT WORTH, Texas — Zach Johnson, continuing his hot play at a course that suits his game, took the first-round lead Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial with a 6-under 64.
It’s Johnson’s 13th consecutive round in the 60s at Colonial. He won this event in 2010.
"Today was great," Johnson said. "I got off to a good start. I just hit quality shots. I didn’t put myself ever in a position that was too worrisome."
Jason Dufner, winner in two of his last three starts, including last week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship, is in a group at 5 under with Harris English, Tom Gillis and Kyle Reifers.
Dufner birdied five of his first eight holes as he opened with a round in the 60s for the eighth time in 14 starts this year.
“A fantastic way to start,” Dufner said. “You have some questions after a win last week, how are you going to respond to that? I came out really quick today and got some birdies.”
Sergio Garcia, the 2001 Crowne Plaza winner, is in a group at 4 under.
Rickie Fowler, who has won and tied for second in his last two starts, opened with a 68. Matt Kuchar, making his first start since winning THE PLAYERS Championship, shot a 72.
ROUND 1: LIVE UPDATES (all times ET)
6:20 p.m. – Rickie Fowler on his 2-under 68: “Decent. Not good, not bad, but we’re off to a good start and hit a lot of good shots today. It’s nice to make two birdies in the last three holes and get back under par and give me some momentum going into tomorrow’s morning round.”
5:56 p.m. – Louis Oosthuizen ended his round by holing out from 117 yards for eagle at the par-4 second. It was the only sub-par hole for Oosthuizen on Thursday as he finished at 1-over 71.
5:49 p.m. – Jason Dufner, playing with Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar, is in with a 5-under 65, which puts him one stroke off the lead.
5:47 p.m. – Nice finish for Rickie Fowler, who rolled in a 20-foot putt on the 18th hole for a 2-under 68. Fowler birdied two of his final three holes.
5:44 p.m. – Tough day with the irons for PLAYERS champion Matt Kuchar. He hit just nine of 18 greens in regulation in Thursday’s first round; Kuchar entered this week ranked 15th on TOUR in GIR at nearly 69 percent. After a poor tee shot at 18, Kuchar found the bunker with his approach shot but saved his par for a 2-over 72.
5:15 p.m. – Tom Gillis has moved into a tie for second after a 5-under 65. His round included three sand saves. It’s Gillis’ lowest round since a second-round 64 in March at The Honda Classic, a tournament in which he tied for second.
4:55 p.m. – Tom Gillis has posted his seventh birdie of the day, rolling in a 34-1/2 foot putt at the par-3 eighth. He’s now 5 under as he plays his last hole of the day.
4:45 p.m. — Jason Dufner got one of those earlier bogeys back with a birdie on the par-3 13th, where he rolled in a 19-footer to get back to 4 under.
4:30 p.m. – Kevin Na, making his first start since THE PLAYERS Championship, started with a bogey at the 10th hole and suffered another at the 14th. But he bounced back with three straight birdies around the turn and is now 1 under.
4:10 p.m. — After making five birdies over his first eight holes, Jason Dufner has given them a couple back with bogeys on two of his last three holes. On the par-5 11th, Dufner laid up only to dump his approach into a bunker and failing to get up-and-down to save par. On the par-4 ninth, his approach sailed long and he failed to save par by missing a 6-footer.
3:40 p.m. — Jason Dufner just made the turn at Colonial, where he’s 4 under through his first nine holes. Meanwhile, four others, including Pat Perez, are another shot back of Dufner.
3:15 p.m. — Jason Dufner’s pace has slowed a bit — he’s even par the last couple of holes after birdies on four of his first five — but playing partner Rickie Fowler isn’t faring too bad, either. Fowler is 2 under through seven with birdies on Nos. 1 and 6. Fowler’s been about as hot as Dufner lately with a win and a runner-up in his last two starts.
2:48 p.m. — How hot is Jason Dufner right now? He’s won twice in his last three starts, and he’s now just two shots off the lead here after birdies on four of his first five holes. Click here to track him live.
Zach Johnson
2:37 p.m. – Kyle Reifers, who entered the field this week as an alternate after Scott Verplank withdrew, is making the most of his start. He eagled the par-5 first hole, then added birdies on the next two holes, putting him at 4 under through three. Click here to follow the rest of Reifer’s’ round
2:27 p.m. – Harris English is also on a hot streak of sorts. The rookie shot 60 on Monday in a British Open qualifier outside Dallas, and has now shot a bogey-free 5-under 65 that leaves him one shot off the lead held by Zach Johnson.
2:01 p.m. – No golfer is hotter than Jason Dufner right now. Fresh off his win last week, he’s opened with three consecutive birdies Thursday, including a 43-foot putt at the second hole. Click here to follow rest of Dufner’s round
1:52 p.m. – Reigning FedExCup champ Bill Haas shot a 2-over 72. Since winning the Northern Trust Open in February, Haas has carded just two rounds in the 60s in his last 21 rounds on TOUR.
1:49 p.m. – Last year, David Toms won his first Crowne Plaza title despite shooting a 74 (in the third round). If he wants to successfully defend his title this year, he’ll need to do the same after his 4-over 74 on Thursday. Of course, right now he’ll need to scramble to make the cut on Friday.
1:45 p.m. – Zach Johnson on his 6-under 64: “Today was great. Just hit some quality shots … I’ve got zero complaints.”
1:23p.m. — Sergio Garcia on his 4-under 66: “I hit some nice shots for the first 13, 14 holes. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it.” Garcia made two key par saves out of greenside bunkers on his final two holes
1:05 p.m. — Maybe they should change the name of this place from Hogan’s Alley to Zach’s Track. Zach Johnson, who won here two years ago, just recorded his 13th straight round in the 60s with a 6-under 64 to take the early clubhouse lead at Colonial. He leads Chris DiMarco, Tommy Gainey and playing partner Sergio Garcia by two shots.
12:37 p.m. – Chris DiMarco has finished his round at 4-under 66 that included seven birdies. It’s his lowest score since he shot 64 in the second round of the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation in mid-January.
12:30 p.m. – Defending champ David Toms has yet to make a birdie through his first 15 holes. Toms is 3 over on his round, having suffered a double bogey at the par-3 13th when he found the water with his tee shot, and a bogey at the par-4 fifth. Dicky Pride, last week’s runner-up at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, is also at 3 over through 10 holes.
12:15 p.m. – Zach Johnson, the 2010 champion, is off to a great start. He’s a bogey-free 6 under through 14 holes and currently sits atop the leaderboard. Starting his round off the 10th tee, he made the turn in 30. Johnson set the tone on his first hole when he drained a 40-foot birdie putt. In a four-hole stretch starting at the 13th, he rolled in four birdie putts between 14 and 22 feet, and has since made another birdie from just inside 16 feet. The only negative for Johnson? He failed to birdie either of the par 5s.
Noon – As so often is the case at Colonial, wind will be a factor today. Earlier this morning, winds were already blowing up to 30 mph and the forecast calls for similar velocity throughout the afternoon.
