Matti Schmid had a strong start at The American Express PGA Tour event but a late setback pushed him down the leaderboard.
Matti Schmid began the first round of The American Express on the PGA Tour with an impressive 5-under-par 67. However, a double bogey on the 18th hole dropped him to a tie for 51st place, just two strokes shy of the top 20. Stephan Jäger shot a 71, finishing 1 under par and placed T118, while Sepp Straka carded a 72 to sit at T131. Both will need strong second rounds to make the cut. Leading the tournament are Min Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody at 10 under par, closely followed by Scottie Scheffler and Robert MacIntyre at 9 under par.
PGA Tour: Matti Schmid’s Outstanding Round until the Final Hole
At The American Express on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, Schmid made the most of excellent conditions. He opened with a precise drive near the green and sunk the first birdie of the day. He added two more birdies on par 5s at holes 4 and 7, positioning himself at 3 under par by the front nine’s end. His back nine started even stronger with birdies on holes 10 and 11, and after a par on 12, he birdied two more holes to reach 7 under. However, a poor second shot on 15 forced him to take a drop and resulted in his first bogey. Schmid rebounded with his eighth birdie on 16 but faltered on the final hole with a double bogey, concluding his round at 67 and 5 under par, entering day two at T51.
Stephan Jäger and Sepp Straka Fall Behind
Jäger struggled early, starting with a bogey and double bogey on the back nine, placing him 3 over par after four holes. He improved with birdies on holes 16 and 18 to reach 1 over par. Additional birdies on holes 5, 8, and 9 helped him finish 1 under par for the day at T118, requiring a strong Friday round to advance. Defending champion Sepp Straka had a steady front nine without birdies but later birdied holes 10 and 13. Yet bogeys on 15 and a double bogey on 16 derailed his momentum. A birdie on 18 saved an even-par round and left him at T131, needing significant improvement to continue into the weekend.