Bogey on 18 doesn’t dim Chesson Hadley’s enthusiasm

Chesson Hadley finished Thursday’s opening round of the Air Capital Classic with one of those bogeys that can sometimes spoil dinner.

But Hadley, a former PGA Tour rookie of the year, was all positive about the 5-under-par 65 that left him three shots behind Web.com Tour rookie Aaron Wise.

“I would venture to guess I’ll probably have the low round or tie the low round this afternoon,” said Hadley, who made eight birdies on Crestview Country Club’s North course. “I hit the ball well for the most part.

“I had a few squirrelly shots too, but I putted in almost everything I looked at.”

Hadley was correct: His score matched the low round of the afternoon wave before threatening skies forced play to be suspended. Hadley’s solid start came less than two weeks after he finished second to rookie Conrad Shindler, losing a playoff at the Rex Hospital Open in Hadley’s hometown of Raleigh, N.C.

That finish has helped the 29-year-old Hadley climb to 19th on the Web.com money list.

It has a familiar feel to 2013, when Hadley capped his rookie season on the Web.com with a victory at the Tour Championship and graduated to the PGA Tour. Once there, he won the Puerto Rico Open and earned more than $1.7 million to earn the rookie of the year honor.

But Hadley’s next two seasons failed to produce that level of success. And after finishing 159th in last year’s FedExCup standings, Hadley’s best option for 2017 was the Web.com.

“The goal is to get my card back and the best way to do that is via the Web,” said Hadley, a former Georgia Tech All-American. “With the finish in Raleigh, that gave me a huge step in the right direction. I know a win or a second-place finish here, I’ll have my card locked up.”

Solid start for Thompson – Lawrence’s Chris Thompson was one of 15 golfers who will have to return Friday morning to complete the first round. The Monday qualifier was 4 under with two holes to play when play was suspended.

This is Thompson’s fifth Air Capital Classic. The former University of Kansas golfer, who grew up in Independence, tied for seventh in 2013 at Crestview, posting a 64 in the third round.

Thompson ended Thursday tied for ninth, starting his round on the back nine. He made five birdies before making his first bogey at the par-4 seventh just before tour officials sounded the siren to end play.

Web.com representing – The group of 15 Web.com golfers who qualified for the U.S. Open at Erin Hills took part in the assault on par Thursday. Jack Maguire, playing his second U.S. Open in three years, led the contingent with a 2-under 70.

Stephan Jaeger, a two-time Web.com winner this season who is No. 1 on the money list, carded a 71 along with Thomas Aiken and Kevin Dougherty. Roberto Diaz, who got into the field as an alternate after Phil Mickelson withdrew, birdied his final hole to shoot even par.

Etc. – Seven bogey-free rounds were completed Thursday, including one by Seth Reeves, who was alone in second. … Michael Gellerman of Sterling shot 69. … Crestview yielded a scoring average of 69.727. … The par-3 fifth played the most difficult on Thursday with a stroke average of 3.271. Seven double bogeys were recorded on the 194-yard hole.

This story was originally published June 15, 2017 at 7:59 PM with the headline "Bogey on 18 doesn’t dim Chesson Hadley’s enthusiasm."