SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A pair of Canadians grabbed the early lead in the first round of the WM Phoenix Open on Thursday.
When play was suspended at 6:07 p.m. local time due to darkness, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin were the clubhouse leaders with a pair of 5-under 66s. Since 1983, there has never been two Canadian players tied for the lead after any round of a stroke play event on the PGA Tour.
“I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to 6-under because I saw Nick up there, and I wanted to hold it over him tonight,” Hadwin said.
Here are four more things to know from the first round at TPC Scottsdale.
Frost in the Valley of the Sun
The tournament got off to an inauspicious start with an hour and forty-five-minute frost delay. It was the first frost delay at the WM Phoenix Open since the first round in 2016. Did the cold weather suit the native Canadians?
“I was home over Christmas in Canada, and it was a little colder than this, but the last two weeks I’ve had enough cold. I’m ready for some heat,” Taylor said.
Taylor and Hadwin both have become Scottsdale transplants and it sounds like their blood has thinned.
“We probably prefer the heat now because we’ve moved south. I’ve played enough in it where I kind of know what to expect,” he said.
It feels like every time a Canadian is on the leaderboard and the temperature drops below 50 degrees F, we get this: pic.twitter.com/B792AHz17H
— Bob Weeks (@BobWeeksTSN) February 9, 2023
After the frost came the wind
Charley Hoffman was in the second group of the morning and dealt with the brunt of the cold, windy weather. The veteran pro, who missed time with an injury last year, is playing on a sponsor exemption – he’s been a WM ambassador since 2007 – and carded 3-under 68 on a difficult day for scoring.
“I didn’t look at the forecast, so I didn’t know it was even projected to blow at all. It was sort of a shock to me,” he said.
That's how you finish a round 💪@Hoffman_Charley buries a 39-footer to move to T3 @WMPhoenixOpen. pic.twitter.com/WeTxpxZMs2
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 9, 2023
When asked if the 14th hole played the toughest, he said, “All of them are beasts. Left, right, downwind it’s too hard to hold the greens, into the wind it’s hard to get there. I think the Tour did a pretty good job setting up the golf course with the wind. I know they changed one pin on 15 because of the wind, but you know what, it’s a tough test.”
Hadwin and Taylor both noted that the wind direction out of the northeast was unusual for TPC Scottsdale.
“We just don’t often see 15-mile-an-hour gusts to 20 out here,” Hadwin said. “Usually we’re playing inside of a dome.”
World No. 1 struggles
Rory McIlroy posted his first opening round over par worldwide since last year’s Masters. The Northern Irishman, who is bidding to win his third consecutive start on the PGA Tour, managed just two birdies en route to shooting 2-over 73 on Thursday. That snapped his streak of 11 straight par-or-better opening-round scores on the Tour.
It could’ve been worse as McIlroy struggled off the tee, hitting just 4 of 14 fairways and finding the water left at No. 11. At the second hole, he flared his tee shot to the right and was fortunate to have a shot at the green. McIlroy produced one of the shots of the day with his pitching wedge from 128 yards.
Are you kidding 🤯@McIlroyRory has no issues from the trees @WMPhoenixOpen. pic.twitter.com/t6Ljad7w3o
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 9, 2023
“Actually the way I was walking up to my ball, it looked like I didn’t have a backswing, but I didn’t realize the angle, like how far right the green actually was. So I got over it, I was like, OK, I needed to take it a little bit more on the inside than I usually would and sort of just toe it in a little bit, but I sort of got lucky because the wind was hard off the left and I needed to hit that hard draw against the wind, and it was the only way to stop it on – that green I feel like is the firmest green on the course – so it was the only way to stop it,” said McIlroy, whose ball stopped 44 feet from the hole. “I got lucky with the tee shot that I had a swing, but I hit a great shot and was delighted to walk away with a par.”
Best in the world battered by the wind
McIlroy wasn’t the only big name who didn’t have his A-game in the opening round. Fifth-ranked Patrick Cantlay, seventh-ranked Collin Morikawa and 16th-ranked Cameron Young all signed for 2-over 73 and were T-83 when play was suspended. Two-time WM Phoenix Open champion Hideki Matsuyama made just one birdie and shot 74, while former PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker skied to 80.
