Wells Fargo Championship: Unheralded duo outshine big names
Saturday 7 May 2016 00:49, UK
Steve Wheatcroft and Andrew Loupe upstaged a host of elite PGA Tour stars as they claimed a share of the lead after the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship.
Wheatcroft and Loupe made light of tricky scoring conditions as they opened with excellent seven-under 65s at Quail Hollow in Charlotte to snatch the lead away from early clubhouse leader Anirban Lahiri.
Justin Rose got to within three of the lead only to make a mess of the final hole and close with a double-bogey that dropped him back to two under with fellow Englishmen Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Greg Owen, while Phil Mickelson is a shot better alongside big-hitting Scot Martin Laird.
But it was a tough day for the highest-ranked players in the field, with defending champion Rory McIlroy and recent form horse Adam Scott firing erratic 73s, while Henrik Stenson fired a 72 and Rickie Fowler needed a late birdie to get under the card.
Wheatcroft put together an entertaining round which featured a pitch in for eagle at the fifth and another eagle-three at the 10th after he hammered a 280-yard second to six feet. He also added five birdies although two dropped shots cost him the outright lead.
The American journeyman soon had company at the top of the leaderboard when Loupe completed a flawless round which included a run of four birdies over six holes in a superb, outward 31.
Lahiri defied the cold and damp early conditions as he got up and running with three birdies in four holes from the fourth, and the Indian ace picked up further shots at 10, 15 and 16 while also keeping a bogey off his card.
Kevin Chappell and Dawie van der Walt are a further shot adrift, while Mickelson offset two birdies with bogeys at the second and ninth on the front nine before vaulting up the leaderboard with a composed, inward 33.
Poulter started at the 10th and birdied 12 and 13 before parring his remaining 14 holes to stay at two under, and Casey had four birdies against two bogeys - including a late blemish at the 17th - as he also fired a 70.
Rose got off to a dreadful start with bogeys at the second and third, but he responded with three birdies in four holes and added two more at 10 and 14 before producing one of the shots of the day at the par-five next, pitching to within two feet of the cup despite being hampered by the out-of-bounds fence after a wayward second.
The resulting birdie got him to four under, but he undid much of his good work at the last when he pulled his second from the fairway, chipped to 15 feet and raced his par putt eight feet past the cup before missing the return.
Fowler, who claimed his breakthrough PGA Tour win at Quail Hollow four years ago, managed to break par despite knocking his tee-shot into water at the tough 17th and running up a double-bogey five, and two-time major champion Martin Kaymer slipped back to one under after he bogeyed the final two holes.
Defending champion McIlroy was in serious trouble when he double-bogeyed the 18th - his ninth - to plummet to four over par, but he regrouped on the front nine and three consecutive birdies from the fifth helped him claw his way back to one over.
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