FORT WORTH, Texas — With the way he saunters around a golf course, easy and consistent, it’s not surprising to hear that Brian Harman’s love for Colonial Country Club was rooted in its Texas charm, a mix of blazing heat and old Southern traditions.
After a significant renovation by the design team of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, “Hogan’s Alley” has a modernized feel for the Charles Schwab Challenge this year, with fresher fairways and firmer greens.
But as much as Harman loved the classic course, his unflappable personality shined through on Thursday during the event’s opening round, as the University of Georgia product proved he can learn on the fly and put a couple of near-misses behind him. En route, he shot a 66 to find a tie atop the leaderboard at the end of the early wave of play, positioning himself nicely in a field that includes world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, and Sungjae Im.
And his quick start was a fact not lost on the lefty, who entered play on Thursday with just one opening round under 69 this year, that coming in the season-opening Sentry back in January.
CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE: Leaderboard
In fact, Harman hasn’t broken 70 in the opening round of his last seven events, including this year’s Masters, where he opened with an 81. Even at the Players, an event in which he tied for second, Harman struggled through a 72 in the first round of action.
At the new Colonial, however, Harman rolled off four birdies in his first eight holes before cooling on his final nine. He had a pair of birdie putts just miss on his second nine that would have put a little distance between him and others who shined in the early wave like S.H. Kim, Martin Laird, Davis Riley and Tony Finau, all of whom also finished with rounds of 66.
Dialed in early 💪@HarmanBrian ties the lead with his fourth birdie of the day @CSChallengeFW. pic.twitter.com/P4HdnJgq40
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 23, 2024
Still, with a bogey-free day in his back pocket, the 2023 Open Championship winner was happy with where he sat after Thursday’s action.
“I made a couple really nice up-and-downs for par as well. So I feel like that stuff kind of evens itself out. I just try to keep executing and my game feels really, really good right now,” Harman said. “I haven’t had the results that I feel like that I probably should have the last few weeks, but I’m playing some pretty good golf and it was nice to get off to…
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