JACKSONVILLE (Fla.) — A hole in one. The 18-hole tournament record is tied. The lead after the first round.
Scott Parel had a bad summer with his health.
The Georgia graduate, who, unlike a number of PGA Tour golfers, didn’t play for the Bulldogs, aced Friday the par-3 hole at Timuquana Country Club and played the following eight holes in 8 under. He shot 64 to finish with a three-shot advantage over Jerry Kelly and Brett Quigley at the PGA Tour Champions, Constellation Furyk & friends.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, a Jacksonville native who grew playing golf in Timuquana and Vijay Singh, are two of the seven players on 4 under.
Davis Love III, Retief Goosen and other members of the World Golf Hall of Fame shot a 2-under-70. Jim Furyk shot a 71 despite suffering from back pain. This included three birdies on four of the nine holes in the back. Steve Stricker, the defending champion, bogeyed his final two holes to finish at an even-par score of 72.
Kelly, Quigley, and Love were the three players who did not have a bogey in the first round.
Parel ace ignited round
Parel was the first player to hit off at No. The third tournament ace was achieved by using an 8-iron at 158 yards. He later birdied No. The 18th hole was birdied, and then he turned to the front nine. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7.
Scott Parel hits a shot at the ninth hole in the first round of 2023 Constellation furyk & friends at Timuquana Country Club, Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images).
He is a four-time PGA Tour Champions champion and has a knack of hanging around, with 43 top-10 and 24 top-5 finishes.
Stricker and he tied for the lowest round of the tournament. Stricker’s 64-hole round in the second last year was crucial to his two-shot win.
Parel is a former computer programmer from Augusta, Georgia. He turned professional at the age of 31. Parel has had a successful Champions Tour career, earning more than $7.6million.
Credit for good luck
Parel called his day lucky. He pushed his first tee-shot near the trees and it kicked into the fairway. He made par from there. Parel birdied his next five holes.
He said, “I got lucky and made a Hole-in-One.” “Got lucky and made a hole-in-one,” he said. It just felt like my day today.
Parel knows that a pair in the low-60s is a difficult score. He did, however, hit 13 fairways on 13 greens. This level of accuracy is not going to disappear over night.
In 22 starts, he is the leader of the PGA Tour Champions for total driving. He is also ninth in terms of greens in regulation.
He said, “I will just try to play the same way I played today.” I don’t think I can shoot another 8-under. “I’ll try to hit the ball on the fairway, and hopefully have some birdie opportunities.”
Overcoming health scare
He said that he is feeling better after doctors inserted a stent into one of his arteries during the summer. He withdrawn from the Ascension Charity Classic in September because he was not feeling well. However, after seeing his physician again, he received clearance to return.
He said, “I feel much healthier.” It’s almost off my mind, now. The problem has been resolved, so I no longer have to worry about why my chest hurts and why I am short of breath. It’s a positive. “I’m not 100 percent, but I can’t shoot 8 under par if I don’t feel good.”
Duval was only three shots behind Parel with 5 under after he birdied Nos. The 14th and 16th holes, the latter on a 30 foot putt. He three-putted the No. He bogeyed 17 and the last hole when he was 80 feet away from the green and came up short from the fairway bunker on the left.
Duval has a pattern of producing one good round in each tournament this season. Three weeks ago, at the Sanford International he tied for 18th and shot 7-under-203.
He said, “I’ve done most of what I have been doing the past few months.” “[It] amounted to a pretty decent sum for a time and just a bit of a rough end.”
Stricker’s streak of bogey free play ends
A bogey on No. Stricker’s streak of 62 consecutive bogey free holes, dating back to 2022’s first round, began at 16. He didn’t make a single bogey when he shot 64 – 69 on the weekend to win. The damage on the four Timuquana Greens that was repaired after vandalism occurred Thursday was barely noticeable. Rules officials will allow three pins to be placed on the greens. Players who have a putt that is in line with a damaged one can get relief. Kelly stated that “even the damaged greens are still better than many of the greens on which we play.” This grounds crew deserves a shout-out. “Fantastic job.”… Colin Montgomerie had 10 over after 12 holes, and he withdrew due to an unknown illness.
