NAPLES, Fla. — Charley Hoffman and Ryan Palmer were well aware where they were predicted to finish at the 2022 QBE Shootout.
12th.
In a normal week, that would be a strong finish. Yet at Tiburon Golf Club, that’s dead last. That prediction is as far from correct as it could be following the first round.
Hoffman and Palmer made eagle on three of Tiburon’s four par-5s and added 10 birdies. After Friday’s scramble format, the duo sits in front at 16 under by two shots over a pair at 14 under.
“All in all, we put ourself in great positions to make birdies,” Hoffman said. “I would say very low stress all day long. For me, I putted first so it wasn’t that stressful for me. Ryan made some great putts. I was able to hit some good drives and be able to capitalize on pretty much all our shots except 18.”
Hoffman and Palmer’s day started with an eagle on the first hole. They added another on the sixth and went out in 8-under 28. Then on the back, it was more birdies and an eagle on the 17th. Their only complaint from the day was not capitalizing on Hoffman’s great iron shot into the back left pin on 18.
Nevertheless, they’re in front heading to Saturday.
“Tomorrow, it’s a matter of just both driving it well and then you choose on which ball to play and all that. If we’re both hitting it well, I think we’ll have a lot of chances tomorrow.”
Hoffman is playing in his sixth QBE Shootout, and he has had a different teammate each time. Palmer is playing for the fifth time, and Hoffman is his fourth partner. Palmer and Harold Varner III shot 55 in the opening round in 2019, and Hoffman joked saying they needed to match that number again this year.
A 56 will do, though.
QBE: Saturday tee times, how to watch
Keith Mitchell and J.J. Spaun look on during the first round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on Dec. 09, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Early on, Keith Mitchell and J.J. Spaun were just trying not to make bogey. That’s not something either of them wanted to happen in the scramble format, but it was a lot easier to laugh about after their 12-under 60, good enough for T-4.
“We thought we were going to make two sixes in a scramble at one point,” Mitchell said. “Thankfully J.J. hit a couple good chips and a really good putt to keep us from really … I mean we could have lost the tournament just in those couple holes.”
Added Spaun: “It was a very slow start.”
Mitchell and Spaun didn’t see each other until late Thursday, even bringing Spaun to wonder whether his partner was even at the tournament. He was, and similar to them finally seeing each other at Tiburon Golf Club, they took a while to get going during the first round.
They birdied the first hole and then had four straight pars. They birdied three of the last four on the front nine, and they finished the day going 10 under over the final 11 holes.
That finish gives them plenty of confidence heading to Saturday.
“I hate to say it kind of depends on how you play, but when you play well, it’s a lot of fun because you have a partner,” Mitchell said. “You can enjoy it with two people instead of one. I think the pressure’s more sometimes because you’re not only letting down yourself, you’re letting down the guy next to you.”
There’s a big group at 12 under, including Brian Harman and Sepp Straka, three-time champions Harris English and Matt Kuchar and Tom Hoge and Sahith Theegala.
Max Homa looks on from the third tee during the first round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 09, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Max Homa and Kevin Kisner kept looking up at scoreboards and felt as if they were out of the tournament.
At one point, they saw Hoffman and Palmer at 16 under, and they said they were at 8 or 9 under at that point. Being in the last group, everyone else had played more holes and was in front of them for a majority of the day.
But as Homa and Kisner came down the stretch, they found their rhythm.
They were 8 under in their final eight holes and 7 under on the last six, and the duo is tied for second with Corey Conners and K.H. Lee at 14 under.
However, when asked about their day, Kisner said he rode Homa’s coattails.
“I just rode Max like a stallion all day long, and whenever he felt like I needed to participate, he let me know and I tried to throw my two cents in,” Kisner said.
“We just had fun,” Homa said. “Obviously, we have a lot of good team chemistry. We made some great putts.”
Nelly Korda and Denny McCarthy interact on the third fairway during the first round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on Dec. 09, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
For the first time in the history of the QBE Shootout, there were two women in the field on Friday, as Nelly Korda joined long-time participant Lexi Thompson as one of the 24 players, and she showed out.
Playing from the men’s tees, Korda regularly hit great drives that she and partner Denny McCarthy would use on occasion, including on the 18th hole. Her short game and putting was also on display, showing why she’s ranked second in the world.
The duo went out in 7-under 29. Although they didn’t finish as strong as they started, Korda and McCarthy finished at 12-under 60 and are in a tie for seventh.
Meanwhile, Thompson and partner Maverick McNealy had seven birdies on their final nine holes, including a great birdie from Thompson on 17 and a short birdie on the 18th from McNealy to shoot 12 under.
Saturday’s format changes to alternate shot, which will create more decisions for the 12 teams to make.
Both players will hit tee shots on all 18 holes, and they’ll pick one shot to play from the fairway. Whichever tee shot they select, the other player will hit the approach shot, and they will alternate shots until the ball is holed.
On Sunday, the format is four-ball, which means every player will play their own shot and complete the hole. The lowest score from each team will count after each hole.