One of Ryan Palmer's good friends is suspended New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton. After Palmer lost in a playoff to Keegan Bradley at last year's HP Byron Nelson Championship, Payton offered a way to deal with the disappointment.
"He told me what Bill Parcells said about losing his first Super Bowl," Palmer recalled. "He said that it stings. That it hurts. That you have to get over it. But you should never forget it."
Palmer hasn't forgotten. Certainly he hasn't forgotten how to play the TPC Four Seasons Resort. That was evident Thursday.
On a day of benign winds that provided generous scoring conditions -- at least for this course -- Palmer had the best round of the day, a bogey-free 6-under 64 that gives him a one-shot lead going into Friday's second round. Marc Leishmanand Alex Cejka are his closest pursuers, one shot back.
Of the 156 players in the field, 55 finished with sub-par rounds. Considering that last year this course ranked as the fifth toughest on the PGA TOUR, it was a day in which players needed to take full advantage.
"This is as easy as you're going to see it," said Ernie Els, who got little out of his even-par 70.
But nothing's that easy when you have to deal with the possible emotional baggage stemming from last year.
Palmer was the 54-hole leader last year but shot 72 in the final round, allowing Bradley to catch him with a 68. Palmer had to birdie the 18th just to make the playoff, but then found the water with his approach shot to lose the tournament.
It was a tough loss for the native Texan who lives in the area and calls this tournament one of "his majors." But instead of fighting the bad vibes on Thursday, he only embraced the good ones ... and the knowledge of how to play a course that up until last year had not treated him particularly well.
"I kept telling myself, 'Redemption,' " Palmer said.
Playing in front of his hometown fans, he wants to have the same feeling as last year, with one exception. "Be the guy standing with the trophy. That's been my focus once I got home from Jacksonville (for THE PLAYERS Championship last week) and leading up to the start of the tournament."
To that end, Palmer is taking the same unique approach to course management that he did last year, allowing caddie James Edmondson to call the shots and pick the clubs, freeing Palmer to just swing away.
The duo have tried it at other tournaments. Last year at the BMW Championship, it lasted "about six holes," Palmer said. They even tried the approach at last week's PLAYERS Championship, but it didn't stick, and Palmer eventually missed the cut.
But for some weird reason, it seems to work at the TPC Four Seasons Resort. Palmer said half the time, he didn't even know what club Edmondson was handing him on Thursday.
Although Palmer hit just six of 14 fairways, his iron play saved him, as he hit 13 of 18 greens. The closest he came to a bogey came at the par-4 ninth, when he had to make a par-saving putt from just inside 14 feet.
"It was a continuation of last year," Palmer said of his approach with Edmondson. "We did it to the exact tee today, every tee shot, second shot. Just got a little loose on the last four holes, but I'm sticking with it.
"For some reason, this golf course we have figured something out. I think it works here because we're so mentally in tune."
Of course, the question now is can they stay in tune for another 54 holes? Especially when the wind starts to blow and makes the course more difficult?
Palmer shot 73-72 on the weekend last year when the winds picked up. He wasn't the only one who suffered.
"I wasn't here last year, and I saw how windy it was," said Bill Lunde, two strokes behind Palmer after his 66 on Thursday. "I was actually laughing at my couch sitting at home."
There may not be much laughing on Friday, since the forecast calls for stiffer winds. But there will be plenty of determination, especially by the leader, who has unfinished business on this course.
Source: PGA
