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SPORTS
Players expect scores to stay low
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Players are going low as expected in The Greenbrier Classic and Pat Perez, one of three players to start play Thursday with a 6-under-par 64, doesn't see that trend changing as the tournament progresses on the par-70 Old White course at The Greenbrier Resort.
When Thursday's opening round ended at approximately 8:35 p.m., 81 of 155 participants were under par.
"You know the whole course pretty much suits my eye," Perez said. "The layout is pretty straightforward. You know they can make the pins pretty tricky if they want to. Problem is the grass is getting chewed up around the holes, so it's getting harder to make putts.
"You know all the holes for the most part pretty much suit my eye. Which is great. I've never really had 18 holes that really fit my eye. That could be another part of it, too. I didn't really see anything last week in Toronto (RBC Canadian Open). I didn't see one good shot out there. I wasn't hitting it as good, either."
Matt Every was an afternoon starter and, thanks to a weather delay, he didn't post his 63 until around 8 p.m. He's tied for the lead with Erik Compton. Every was 6 under on the front thanks to birdies on the final through holes. He played the back 1 under.
"The greens were rough. It was tough to make anything," said Every, who just missed a 10-foot birdie putt on his closing hole. "I made them (birdies) early. I'll take it."
Every feels better knowing he goes in the morning session today and should find the greens more suitable.
"It'll definitely help. There's less traffic," he said. "I drove it great and made some putts. I was in every hole. I'll take what I get."
Knowing the course is vulnerable, Perez said the mindset was to be aggressive from start to finish. He said there's not much PGA TOUR officials can do to change things in this FedExCup event.
"You know this is going to be the kind of course where you have to really get -- I mean it's going to be 20-under par that wins this tournament, so you've got to get into that mindset. I really try to stay in the moment where I don't think about the outcome. Just kind of see what happens. It's just about building confidence. This is obviously a good confidence builder for me.
"No unless they put them (pins) right on the sides of a mountain like this. Nothing they can do because the rough isn't that long. I though the rough would be longer. This course would be a hell of a lot tougher if it was fast and firm."
Jeff Overton and George McNeill also shot 64 in the morning. There was a weather delay at 4:07 p.m. Players went back onto the course at 5:30 and finished at close to 9.
"It's probably the best ball-striking round until the 18th hole that I've probably ever had," Overton said. "A fun golf course. The place is really neat. Any time the greens get soft they roll pretty well, so they're very true. Any time the greens get like that and you get on with a driver, you're getting a lot of wedges in here because it's so firm and fast on the fairways. You're getting some good scoring opportunities."
McNeill closed with three birdies, showing his game is coming back into form.
"Every player goes through it," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're the No. 1 player in the world or the No. 1001 player in the world. You're going to struggle at times. You just have to look at it and analyze why you're struggling and maybe get back to basics. That's basically what I'm trying to do, get back to basics. Confidence wise it's always nice to throw up a good round. I've been working on some things and my swing is starting to feel more comfortable."
Brendon de Jonge is in a group of five players at 5-under. He had seven birdies in his round.
"I think this course was exactly what we expected," the Virginia Tech graduate said. "It's nice to be sitting at 5 under, but I can definitely see 7-, 8-, 9-under being shot today. I think we got a pretty good feel for the course in the practice round."
Having Virginia Tech alums in the crowd provides de Jonge a spark.
"It's always great to look around and see familiar faces, people that are pulling for you," he said. "Yeah, a little bit of added enjoyment for sure."