PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Tommy Fleetwood needed a round like this. He has gone more than two years without winning a tournament, falling so far down the Official World Golf Ranking that he narrowly stayed in the top 50 at the cutoff to qualify for The Players Championship.
Amid two weather delays, one timely par save and plenty of good shots along the way, Fleetwood opened with a 6-under-par 66 to share the lead – for now – with Pebble Beach winner Tom Hoge.
And now he waits. Maybe until Saturday.
The PGA Tour’s premier event with a $20 million purse got off to a stop-and-go start because of storms Thursday, and there’s a dire forecast for Friday. Only 66 players finished the opening round, and a dozen didn’t even hit their first tee shots.
“I’ve got a full round in today. I don’t know when I’ll play next, but I’m happy. I’m done,” said Fleetwood, a 31-year-old from England with five wins on the European circuit but none on the PGA Tour. “I’ve had a really good day. I can sit on that. I can feel happy with my work and go from there.”