In Greensboro, N.C., Beau Hossler shot a 61 to lead the first round of the Wyndham Championship. Virginia graduate Ben James made eagle on both par 5s but a soft finish with two bogeys kept him from sharing the lead with Hossler. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The final tournament of the regular season determines the top 70 in the FedEx Cup who advance to the postseason.
James, the No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University ranking that came with a tour card, has to win to reach the top 70. He finished with a 62, making bogey-birdie-bogey on the last three holes, both bogeys coming after he missed 6-foot par putts.
Koivun earned his card from the accelerated PGA Tour University program for underclassmen — he clinched his card as a sophomore and deferred it one year — and is in much better shape at No. 70. Koivun missed some birdie chances coming in and shot 67.
Hossler is at No. 122 in the FedEx Cup and also has to win to reach the first playoff event next week. He ran off four straight birdies early in his front nine at Sedgefield Country Club, and played the final holes in 4 under with a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th.
“Try and win a golf tournament,” Hossler said. “That’s all there is to it.”
James, the 36-hole leader at the Canadian Open in his professional debut before crashing on the weekend, made a 15-foot eagle putt on the 15th that allowed him to catch Hossler.
With the chance at another 59 at Sedgefield, he three-putted from just inside 6 feet.