Matt Wallace had a tough time during a challenging golf season, even missing out on watching the Masters. This made him think about what sets the top golfers apart. When asked about Scottie Scheffler, Wallace acknowledged his incredible skill but also noted that it’s hard for others to replicate his success.
Now, with Scheffler absent from his hometown tournament due to awaiting the birth of his child, Wallace has a chance to shine. He played exceptionally well in the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, shooting an impressive 8-under 63.
This puts him ahead by one shot, with seven other players close behind, including Taiga Semikawa, a young golfer from Japan who finished with a strong 64.
Jason Day, the defending champion, was among many players trailing by three shots. He and Jordan Spieth, a local favorite, struggled towards the end of their round. Spieth finished 3 under par.
Brad Hopfinger, a golfer making his PGA Tour debut at 35, was two shots behind Matt Wallace, along with Ben Kohles, Alex Smalley, and Hayden Buckley.
Wallace, who hasn’t had much success this year with five missed cuts and no top-10 finishes in 11 tournaments, started strong with five birdies in the first six holes. He finished the round without dropping a shot, ending with a birdie on the 18th hole.
The 34-year-old English golfer has been observing younger players like Ludvig Aberg, especially since many top players are skipping the Nelson to prepare for the Wells Fargo Championship and the PGA Championship in the following weeks.
Both Day and Spieth had difficulties, including bogeys on the fifth hole. Despite that, Day managed two birdies in the last four holes, while Spieth could only par the final hole and struggled on the par 5s.
“It’s a golf course where you can score well,” Spieth commented. “I struggled on the easy holes today, and that’s pretty much how it went.”
Spieth has yet to win this tournament, despite participating for the 12th time. He first played as a 16-year-old amateur in 2010. Day won his first PGA Tour event around that time, and after a five-year gap, he won again last year.
Spieth couldn’t play in last year’s tournament due to a wrist injury, but he finished second in 2022.
The start of the game was delayed by an hour due to rain, and more rain is expected over the weekend. If it doesn’t rain much, the players might face minimal wind on a soft course that has seen a lot of birdies over the past four years.
“I’m not too far behind, but ideally, you want to be within two or three shots of the lead after the first few rounds,” Spieth added. “There doesn’t seem to be much wind, so I’ll need to make up some ground because many players will be scoring low.”
Raul Pereda hit a hole-in-one on the 236-yard seventh hole and finished with a score of 68. Kris Kim, a 16-year-old from England, also shot 68 in his debut on the tour. His mother, who is originally from South Korea, played on the LPGA Tour in the 1990s.
Competing on a sponsor exemption in the inaugural year of the Nelson event named after the South Korean company CJ Group, Kim made an impressive chip for an eagle at No. 9, wrapping up a round marked by ups and downs, including five birdies and four bogeys.
“At the beginning, I felt nervous, especially in the first couple of holes, but as we progressed, it was just about playing golf,” Kim said. He remained undefeated in the Junior Ryder Cup last year and is the first amateur backed by CJ Group.
