Beau Hossler and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre each fired a 7-under-par 64 to share the lead after the first round of the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic on Thursday in South Carolina.
Hossler and McIntyre said this week was the first time they had seen the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, but that apparent handicap didn’t keep them from forging a one-stroke advantage. They each are seeking their first win on the PGA Tour.
Four players are tied at 65: Davis Thompson, Alistair Docherty, China’s Zecheng Doug and Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti.
Hossler opened with a birdie at No. 1, and added more birdies at Nos. 4, 5, 11 and 12, before making a 75-foot eagle shot out of a left fairway bunker at the par-5 No. 13.
“I couldn’t see it,” Hossler said when asked about the eagle. “I saw it go up and then I heard people say, ‘good shot.’ Yeah, it was nice. I left it right at the spot where I wanted. I thought the left bunker would be a good place, and obviously I’d never expect to make it, but hit a good one, and I couldn’t help — obviously I didn’t see it go in, so I don’t know how much speed it had, but it felt like a pretty good shot.”
He gave back a shot with a bogey at the par-4 No. 14, but rebounded with his final birdie of the day at No. 15.
“It’s been a good start and then very mediocre the last couple months,” Hossler said of his year. “Game just hasn’t felt great. Wasn’t hitting it great, wasn’t putting great. Felt a bit out of it.
“No, I feel like I’m trending, got some stuff that I’m working on that I feel pretty excited about. It’s peaks and valleys in this sport. It’s really frustrating. I think it’s like that for pretty much every player in the world except for one at the moment, and I’m trying to just accept the fact that it is what it is and try and have a little better attitude when it’s down because it’s tough to ride that emotional roller coaster for a career.”
MacIntyre started on the back nine and put together a run of five birdies over seven holes (Nos. 12, 13, 15, 16, 18) for a 31, then followed with a 33, including a bogey at the par-4 No. 8 when two shots found the rough and he sank a 23-inch putt.
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, a Robert Trent Jones-designed course, formerly hosted the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the Champions Tour from 1994-99.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s a great track,” MacIntyre said. “I didn’t know what to expect coming here obviously with the other tournament (Wells Fargo Championship) going on just now. I thought we might have a lesser golf course. But this is top drawer.”
–Field Level Media
