A course he had never seen
Rory Sabbatini arrived at Snoqualmie Ridge without a single practice round in the bank. He left the first day of the Boeing Classic two shots clear of everyone.
The Slovakian shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 on Friday in Snoqualmie, Washington. Seven birdies, no dropped shots, nothing complicated about how he got there.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect coming here, I hadn’t been here before, but from tee to green, pretty simplistic layout,” Sabbatini said. “You know the keys, the things you have to do, just put the ball in the fairway. Greens are a little tricky out there and the bunkering is pretty severe, pretty deep. The closer you get to the green, you have to be very particular, very precise on the shots you’re going to play.”
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Four months on the senior circuit
Sabbatini turned 50 on April 2 and made his PGA Tour Champions debut two weeks later. He has not won yet, though he has been close enough to feel it. Third at the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone in July, a senior major. In contention through 36 holes at the Portugal Invitational before a closing 76 dropped him to a tie for 13th.
“Firestone gave me a glimpse in the final round, but Portugal kind of set me back again, definitely got under my skin, irritated me a little bit,” he said. “I just realized that out here you’ve just got to make sure that you keep your foot down on the pedal all the way to the end because there’s too many good golfers out here.”
Who is chasing
Jerry Kelly and New Zealand’s Steven Alker share second at 5 under. Kelly won this event in 2017 and carded six birdies against one bogey. Alker matched Sabbatini’s seven birdies but gave two back.
“I think my bogeys were just kind of like on the green, kind of hurt me a little bit,” Alker said. “Didn’t birdie the par-5s on the back nine, which is disappointing. All in all, yeah, solid day for not having played for two-and-a-half weeks.”
Steve Flesch, George McNeill, Tim Herron, Stewart Cink, Vaughn Taylor and Darren Clarke sit at 4-under 68. Defending champion Steve Allan opened with a 69. Michael Block, the teaching pro who tied for 15th at the 2023 PGA Championship, is playing on a sponsor exemption and shot 70. Twenty-seven of the 78 players in the field broke par.
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