Matti Schmid had a strong start at The American Express PGA Tour event, but a late setback pushed him down the leaderboard.
Matti Schmid had an impressive opening round at The American Express tournament on the PGA Tour, shooting a 67, 5 under par. However, a double bogey on the 18th hole prevented an even better score. After the first day, Schmid sits tied for 51st, just two strokes off the top 20. Stephan Jäger shot a 71, 1 under par, placing him tied for 118th, while Sepp Straka shot a 72 and is tied for 131st. Both will need substantial improvements on Friday to make the cut. Leading the tournament are Min Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody at 10 under par, followed by a chasing pack including Scottie Scheffler and Robert MacIntyre at 9 under par.
PGA Tour: Matti Schmid’s outstanding round until the final hole
Playing on the Nicklaus Tournament Course under excellent conditions, Matti Schmid started strong. On the first hole, he hit a beautiful drive close to the green and sank the putt for the day’s first birdie. Two more birdies followed on the front nine at the par-5 holes 4 and 7, where he positioned his drive perfectly to go 3 under par.
Schmid’s back nine started even better with birdies on holes 10 and 11. After a par on hole 12, two additional birdies brought him to 7 under par. However, a flawed second shot on hole 15 led to a drop and his first bogey. He bounced back quickly with his eighth birdie on hole 16 and appeared set to finish in the top 20. Unfortunately, he struggled again on the final hole, taking another drop after his second shot, and missed the bogey putt, resulting in a double bogey and a final score of 67, finishing at 5 under par and tied for 51st heading into day two.
Stephan Jäger and Sepp Straka fall back
Stephan Jäger had a tough start on the back nine, falling to 3 over par after a bogey and a double bogey in his first four holes. He recovered somewhat with birdies on 16 and 18, improving to 1 over par. A birdie on hole 3 slightly set him back but was balanced by birdies on 5, 8, and 9, allowing him to finish with a 1 under par round and tied for 118th, needing a strong second round to make the cut.
For defending champion Sepp Straka, the day did not go as planned.