Wyndham Championship 2022: Luke Donald and Danny Willett make slow starts as John Huh leads in Greensboro
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Updated 05/08/2022 at 07:38 GMT
While there is plenty of focus on the top of the leaderboard at the Wyndham Championship, which is being led by John Huh after the opening round, there is a lot of focus further down as players vie to keep their PGA Tour playing rights on that is the final event of the regular season at the Sedgefield Country Club.
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A stunning round of 61 earned John Huh the first-round lead at the Wyndham Championship, while there was plenty of focus further down the leaderboard in the final event of the regular season on the PGA Tour.
Players such as Danny Willett, Harry Higgs and both Ryder Cup captains - Luke Donald and Zach Johnson - are outside the top 125 and in danger of losing their playing privileges for next season.
Donald, who has had an intense week after being named Europe’s Ryder Cup captain for next year, made a bright start at Sedgefield Country Club with a birdie on the first but he was unable to get things going and a round of 70 does little for his chances.
There were better signs for Higgs and Johnson who worked their way into red numbers, but Willett carded a 75 to sit at five-over.
Matt Wallace started the day just inside the cut off at 124, and he made a poor start to the tournament with a round of 71.
PGA Tour rookie Austin Smotherman, who was 125 at the start of the week, produced an opportune moment to card his career-low score - 65 - to ease the nerves somewhat.
First Round Leaderboard
- 1. John Huh, nine-under
- 2. Sungjae Im, seven-under
- T3. Peter Malnati, six-under
- T3. Brandon Wu, six-under
- T5. Brian Stuard, five-under
- T5. Cameron Percy, five-under
- T5. Aaron Wise, five-under
- T5. Austin Smotherman, five-under
- T5. Ben Kohles, five-under
- T5. Alex Smalley, five-under
- T5. Ryan Moore, five-under
- T5. Rafael Cabrera Bello, five-under
Rickie Fowler has an exemption for the 2023 season, so is under less pressure. But he continues to struggle and a 71 leaves him on the bubble in terms of qualifying for the FedEx Cup play-offs.
For Huh, his round of 61 is a career-low score and he is two shots clear of Sungjae Im.
The highlight of Huh's round was a long-range eagle on the 15th.
The round came as a surprise to Huh who said: "It’s kind of strange, because I wasn’t really feeling great with my game and [I shot] my career low, it’s kind of weird. Sort of mixed feelings, but I’ll take this any day. I was able to take advantage of a good break and good shots, that’s all I can say.”
Billy Horschel’s goal for the remainder of the season is to secure a place in the United States' Presidents Cup team. An opening round of 67 did his cause no harm.
On his return from an injury that forced him to miss the Open, Justin Rose shot a three-over 73.
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