Scotland’s Martin Laird fired a 7-under-par 64 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Classic on Thursday.
The opposite-field event offers 300 FedEx Cup points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption and a spot in next week’s PGA Championship if not otherwise qualified to the winner. The Truist Championship is taking place concurrently in Charlotte, N.C.
England’s Aaron Rai, the second-highest ranked player in the field at No. 42, is one stroke behind at 6 under, tied with Japan’s Keita Nakajima. Mark Hubbard, John VanDerLaan and Paul Peterson all carded 5-under par 66s, while Brandt Snedeker heads a group of 10 golfers tied at 4 under.
Laird, a four-time winner on the tour but winless since the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, started on the back nine and blistered it with a 6-under 30. That included an eagle on the par-5 15th, where he curled in a putt from 16 feet.
Laird got to 8 under after a birdie at the par-4 6th, but gave it back with a bogey at No. 8.
The 43-year old Laird recently switched putters and saw it pay dividends at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club.
“I’ve not really been putting great for a while, I feel like I’ve been telling people I’m playing better than my scores just because of my putting recently,” said Laird. “It was nice to finally have a day where I made some putts and started out making a nice 12-footer on the first hole and probably a 15-footer on the second hole, and that kind of got me going.”
Laird, who has been bouncing back and forth between PGA and Korn Ferry Tour events, only learned on Monday that he got into the tournament. He admitted to really struggling the last several years and had thoughts of giving up the weekly grind.
“When you are my age and been doing it 20-odd years, you kind of start thinking, is it worth it? I’ve had four weeks off, and my wife was great. We were like, ‘Let’s make a decision. If you’re going to keep playing, let’s really go for it.'”
Rai, who has already qualified for next week’s PGA Championship, could not have started his round much better, recording birdies on the first four holes. He had bogeys on two of the final four front-nine holes, but played a flawless back nine with four birdies before finishing his round with a bogey.
“I heard a lot of really good things the last two years,” said Rai about playing in Myrtle Beach. “I watched the highlights when Chris Gotterup won the first year and just really liked the way that it looked. Yeah, it fits the schedule really well with playing ahead of the PGA Championship next week, so it was a really simple decision to play.”
Nakajima recorded six birdies and no miscues on his round.
Brooks Koepka, the most notable player in the field, shot a 3-under par 68 and is tied with 14 other golfers for 17th place.
