AMERICA’S Matt Every shot a course record 9-under 63 to take the first round lead of the 2012 Valero Texas Open in San Antonio today.
Every has never finished higher than third on the US PGA Tour and wasn’t allowing himself to get carried away by his nine birdie bogey-free round on the notoriously unforgiving TPC San Antonio course.
“It’s cool to have but I mean … in the long-run it’s meaningless,” Every said. “It’s one round of golf. It’s great to get off the a good start but I’ve been in this position a few times where the first round is great to shoot low but you got to keep it going.”
In outright second on 6-under was compatriot Hunter Haas with fellow American Ben Curtis alone in third a further stroke back.
Swede Fredrik Jacobson was one of five golfers tied for fourth on 4-undeer while pre-tournament favourite Matt Kuchar was at T11 on 2-under.
The best placed Aussie was Stuart Appleby, looking for his first win on the tour since the Greenbrier Classis in August 2010, the year he also won the Australian Masters.
Appleby finished on 1-under on his first competitive hit out on this course. He played in one previous Texas Open but that was at La Cantera not TPC San Antonio.
“It’s testing,” the 40-year-old nine-time PGA Tour winner said. “It’s my first year here so I’m learning the little nuances of where to be and where not to be, where to miss and so on. I’m still trying to develop my relationship with it.”
There are eight other Aussies in the field with Greg Chalmers the next best on even while Nick O’Hern and Nathan Green were 1-over, Mathew Goggin 2-over, Gavin Coles 3-over, Marc Leishman 4-over, Matt Jones and Steven Bowditch 5-over and Mark Hensby 7-over.
The Valero Texas Open is being telecast in Australia on Fox Sport mostly in the 5am to 8am timeslot AEST.
2012 Valero Texas Open Leaderboard
2012 Valero Texas Open Leaderboard