Friday May 16, 10:58 AM
Five tied at six under in Atlanta first round
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Five players were tied on six under par
after a rain-affected, first round at the Atlanta Classic on
Thursday.
Americans Jonathan Kaye, Ryan Palmer, Jonathan Byrd and
Parker McLachlin fired rounds of 66 at the TPC Sugarloaf before
the rain made conditions tougher for the later players.
Compatriot Kenny Perry joined the quartet at the top after
completing 17 holes in heavy rain.
More than an hour's play was lost as the cloudy conditions
turned thundery with McLachlin forced to wait to complete his
final hole - the course's ninth.
"I actually got cold out there. You get your heart rate
going then you sit for 45 minutes or an hour and you get cold,"
said McLachlin.
"I just tried to stay loose and not think about the shot
until it was actually time to tee my ball up and then start
thinking about it. Because it's not one you want to sit there
thinking about for an hour. It's a tough tee shot."
With few non-Americans in the tournament, the best of the
foreign players were Colombian Camilo Villegas who was two off
the lead with a four under 68.
Villegas had an inconsistent round - he eagled the 13th but
made three bogeys including one on the par-five 18th.
"I just rolled some good putts in," said Villegas. "The
greens are rolling nice and smooth, and you just got to have a
good attitude toward every golf course you play.
The afternoon players had to cope with steady rain and poor
visibility with the bogey-free Perry the only player matching
the morning performers.
It was a nightmare day for Franklin Langham.
The Georgia resident started in the rain on the 10th hole
and took four penalty strokes off the tee after his first four
tee shots went wide left. He needed 11 shots to hit the green
and finished with a 13 on the par-five.
He also shot seven on the par-four third and double-bogeyed
the sixth, 12th and 18th and recorded bogeys at 13, 14 and the
par-three eighth, his penultimate hole before the weather ended
his day with one to play.
(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami, editing by Greg
Stutchbury)
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