McKINNEY, Texas — Sebastian Munoz was standing in the course of the green on the 18th gap fascinated by his shot at a 59 within the first spherical of the Byron Nelson. After lacking the inexperienced, he turned the primary participant in PGA Tour historical past with two rounds of 60 in the identical season.
Munoz made a pleasant flop shot from the appropriate of the inexperienced, then holed the 12-foot birdie putt to wrap up his 12-under spherical that included a formidable surge after his solely bogey.
“I imply, I wished to present myself an opportunity. … It was 250 [yards] to the pin into the wind. I sort of wished to hit like a bullet, like a little bit draw,” Munoz mentioned. “I knew if I wish to hit it shut, needed to be a fade, soft-landed shot. I attempted to try this. Overdid it and ended up with a 60, which is basically good round right here.”
Good for a 4-stroke lead over defending champion K.H. Lee, Mito Pereira, Peter Malnati and Justin Lower. Kyle Wilshire, a Monday qualifier making solely his third profession PGA Tour begin, was alone in sixth after a 65 that included a close to hole-in-one when he banged the flagstick together with his tee shot on the 230-yard, par-3 seventh.
Lee gained the 2021 Nelson at 25-under par when his low spherical was a 65. He performed in the identical group Thursday with Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, the foremost champions from Dallas whose first PGA Tour occasions had been each as youngsters on the Nelson when it was nonetheless at TPC 4 Seasons.
Scheffler, the No. 1 participant on the planet, and Spieth each shot 67. So did Eleventh-ranked Dustin Johnson, who began on the again 9 with 5 birdies after which had 4 extra, together with 4 bogeys.
It was the primary particular person begin for Scheffler since profitable the Masters 5 weeks in the past. Three-time main champ Spieth, ranked No. 9, performed for the primary time since his RBC Heritage victory the week after the Masters.
Munoz was 2-under after a one-stroke penalty due to a wayward tee shot on the eighth gap. The 29-year-old Colombian, who additionally lives within the Dallas space, then went 6 underneath within the subsequent 4 holes. He eagled the ninth and twelfth holes and had 3-foot birdies on each holes in between these par 5s.
After simply lacking a protracted birdie probability on No. 13, he made 4 birdies during the last 5 holes – the longest of these putts being the final one after solely his second missed inexperienced within the spherical.
“It is an amazing feeling at any time when every little thing is clicking, hitting the tee pictures, ball is popping out within the window that you simply imagined, the putts, that you simply’re studying good the putts. The velocity,” Munoz mentioned. “When every little thing goes, it is simply keep out of the way in which and simply sort of let it occur.”
Munoz additionally had a 60 within the opening spherical of the RSM Basic at Seaside in Georgia in November, though that was a 10-under rating. He went on to complete third. That is his seventh time as a first-round chief, however his solely PGA Tour win got here on the Sanderson Farms Championship two seasons in the past when he was forty third after a gap 70.
TPC Craig Ranch, the second-year residence of the Nelson, is about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas and 30 miles east of the College of North Texas in Denton, the place Munoz went to high school.
Despite the fact that Munoz lives in North Texas, he mentioned he hadn’t performed TPC Craig Ranch for the reason that Nelson’s debut there final 12 months. Munoz completed 10 underneath for the 4 rounds mixed final 12 months, when he tied for fifty fifth. He mentioned he performed the course just a few occasions whereas in faculty.
Spieth began with seven consecutive pars earlier than hitting his strategy on the par-4 No. 8 inside 4 ft and made the birdie. He then missed the green of the tee at No. 9, however nonetheless received his second shot on the inexperienced and made a 12-foot putt for eagle.
Wilshire, who turned professional in 2014, earned $8,000 final weekend when he tied for second place throughout a mini-tour occasion in Oklahoma. The Nelson purse is $9.1 million, with the winner taking residence greater than $1.6 million and the runner-up virtually $992,000.
After having knee surgical procedure in 2018 and never taking part in properly the next 12 months, Wilshire took a job as a trash porter at his girlfriend’s condo complicated for 4 months throughout the pandemic shutdown in 2020. It was a night job that allowed him to work on his recreation throughout the day.
“It wasn’t essentially the most glamourous job, however I would not say it humbled me, however allowed me to work on my recreation,” Wilshire mentioned. “It saved me in fine condition and I simply assume it made me a little bit more durable. Made me simply recognize the chance to play.”
