LOS ANGELES – Sam Burns had few expectations of himself and, with the pressure gone, the American notched two eagles on the way to an 11-under 61 on Jan 19 to take a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the PGA Tour’s American Express tournament in La Quinta, California.
The 27-year-old said he did not realise he was within sight of the 13th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history until he was on the 17th green, where his birdie putt from about 25 feet slid by.
He parred 18th to cap his career-best round, heading the field on 17-under 127 on another low-scoring day in the California desert east of Los Angeles.
“Overall, just a really solid day,” said Burns, who added birdies at the 13th to 16th holes to grab the solo lead.
“I hit a lot of quality shots and was able to make some putts.”
He kick-started his round with a 15-foot eagle at the par-five fourth hole on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, one of three in use over the first three rounds of the event.
He also had birdies at the fifth, sixth and seventh, then eagled the par-five 11th, where he hit a “perfect seven-iron” that left him three feet for eagle. Burns added that he was not thinking about a 59.
“Based off the scores, obviously everybody’s shooting some good numbers, so (I was) just trying to keep pace and trying to hit as many quality shots,” he said.
American Michael Kim had 10 birdies and a bogey in his nine-under 63 for 128 on the same course, where South Korean Lee Kyoung-hoon had nine birdies in his eight-under 64.
Lee was tied for third on 15-under 129 with amateur Nick Dunlap, a University of Alabama sophomore who shot an impressive seven-under 65 on the Stadium Course – considered the toughest of the three courses which also include the La Quinta Course.
Reigning US Amateur champion Dunlap is trying to become just the eighth amateur to win on the PGA Tour since 1945, and the first since Phil Mickelson won in Arizona in 1991. He said his strong start to the week came down to “trusting myself” in only his fourth tour start.
In women’s golf, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko turned in a five-under 67 to join Japan’s Ayaka Furue (71) atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the LPGA Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida.
The duo are at eight-under 136 at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, two shots ahead of Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh (68) and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (71). AFP, REUTERS
