The PGA Tour swung back to continental U.S. on Thursday for the opening round of the Humana Challenge, and as always, there were plenty of birdies rolled in on the three courses in the Palm Springs area. The Nicklaus and Palmer Courses at PGA West and the La Quinta Country Club are annually rated with the lowest scoring averages of the season, so it’s no surprise that most of the field is in the red, and a significant chunk posted numbers in the mid-to-low 60s.
2014 Humana Challenge: Patrick Reed leads, Zach Johnson goes low again
The birdiefest that is the Humana Challenge opened on Thursday under perfect conditions in Palm Springs, and as you’d expect, there were several scores in the low 60s.
Jeff Gross
Patrick Reed is the early pacesetter, posting a bogey-free 9-under 63 on the Palmer Course. The conditions were perfect on Thursday, and they’re supped to remain that way over the next three days. Reed, who had struggled since getting his first career win at the Wyndam Championship in Greensboro last fall, took advantage of the conditions and got things rolling at PGA West. He wasn’t the sharpest off the tee, but that didn’t matter much as he took a one-shot lead over a quartet of touring regulars at 8-under.
Zach Johnson, who played with Reed in the opener at Kapalua, is right there again on the first page of the leaderboard at 7-under. Johnson was bogey free on the La Quinta course, and he’s got to be the favorite in almost every event he enters these days. Now, with a solid first round putting him in position for another weekend charge, he’s again the player on the board everyone else should be concerned about.
Ryan Palmer, the Texan who is known for his birdie streaks, is also one of the more experienced players in the hunt, thanks to six straight birdies and a back side 29 coming in on the Palmer course. Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, and Rickie Fowler are all also under par and in fine shape to contend on the weekend, even if there five and six shots back after the opening 18.
Here are the final results from the opening round in Palm Springs, with the Thursday’s course abbreviated in parentheses:
| Place | Player | Score | Round 1 |
| 1 | Patrick Reed (PP) | -9 | 63 |
| T2 | Ryan Palmer (PP) | -8 | 64 |
| T2 | Justin Hicks (NP) | -8 | 64 |
| T2 | Daniel Summerhays (NP) | -8 | 64 |
| T2 | Charley Hoffman (LQ) | -8 | 64 |
| T6 | Charlie Wi (PP) | -7 | 65 |
| T6 | Zach Johnson (LQ) | -7 | 65 |
| T6 | Matt Every (NP) | -7 | 65 |
| T6 | Russell Knox (PP) | -7 | 65 |
| T6 | Hudson Swafford (NP) | -7 | 65 |
| T6 | Bill Haas (LQ) | -7 | 65 |
| T6 | Brendon Todd (NP) | -7 | 65 |
| T13 | Stuart Appleby (PP) | -6 | 66 |
| T13 | Justin Leonard (NP) | -6 | 66 |
| T13 | Matt Jones (NP) | -6 | 66 |
| T13 | Brett Quigley (LQ) | -6 | 66 |
| T13 | John Merrick (LQ) | -6 | 66 |
| T13 | Ryo Ishikawa (PP) | -6 | 66 |
| T13 | Kevin Kisner (NP) | -6 | 66 |
| T20 | Scott Brown (PP) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Brad Fritsch (PP) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Jim Herman (NP) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Heath Slocum (NP) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Will MacKenzie (NP) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Andrew Loupe (PP) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Jason Kokrak (NP) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Aaron Baddeley (LQ) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Harris English (LQ) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Brian Stuard (LQ) | -5 | 67 |
| T20 | Brice Garnett (PP) | -5 | 67 |
| T31 | Greg Chalmers (NP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Josh Teater (NP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Cameron Tringale (LQ) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Jonathan Byrd (PP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Scott Stallings (NP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Charlie Beljan (LQ) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Seung-Yul Noh (PP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Chad Collins (NP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Michael Putnam (LQ) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | John Peterson (LQ) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Roberto Castro (PP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Rory Sabbatini (PP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Rickie Fowler (LQ) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | David Hearn (PP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Joe Durant (PP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | James Driscoll (PP) | -4 | 68 |
| T31 | Kevin Na (NP) | -4 | 68 |
| T48 | Martin Flores (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Harrison Frazar (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Keegan Bradley (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Bryce Molder (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Jeff Maggert (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Pat Perez (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Brendon de Jonge (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Ben Curtis (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Tyrone Van Aswegen (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Jamie Lovemark (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Kevin Tway (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Scott Langley (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Kevin Stadler (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Jerry Kelly (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Webb Simpson (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Davis Love III (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Derek Ernst (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Ted Potter, Jr. (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Brian Gay (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | David Toms (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Spencer Levin (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Bronson La'Cassie (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | David Lingmerth (LQ) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Brian Davis (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Brian Harman (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Gary Woodland (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Jhonattan Vegas (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Luke Guthrie (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Martin Laird (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Peter Malnati (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Tim Wilkinson (PP) | -3 | 69 |
| T48 | Andrew Svoboda (NP) | -3 | 69 |
| T80 | Sean O'Hair (NP) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Kevin Chappell (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Robert Garrigus (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Robert Allenby (NP) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Alex Aragon (NP) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | William McGirt (NP) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Bo Van Pelt (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Brendan Steele (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Ben Crane (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Jonas Blixt (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Blake Adams (PP) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Erik Compton (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Camilo Villegas (NP) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Jason Bohn (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Daniel Chopra (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | James Hahn (PP) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Jeff Overton (LQ) | -2 | 70 |
| T80 | Lee Williams (NP) | -2 | 70 |
| T98 | John Senden (NP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Ken Duke (PP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Will Claxton (PP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Scott Gardiner (NP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Freddie Jacobson (PP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | J.J. Henry (NP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Chesson Hadley (PP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Edward Loar (NP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Scott Piercy (NP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Carl Pettersson (NP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Nicholas Thompson (PP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Steven Bowditch (NP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Chad Campbell (PP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Chris DiMarco (PP) | -1 | 71 |
| T98 | Bud Cauley (LQ) | -1 | 71 |
| T113 | Paul Goydos (PP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Sang-Moon Bae (LQ) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Billy Hurley III (LQ) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Nicolas Colsaerts (LQ) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Brandt Snedeker (LQ) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Wes Roach (NP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | John Rollins (PP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Briny Baird (PP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Dudley Hart (PP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | John Daly (LQ) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Morgan Hoffmann (NP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Billy Horschel (PP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Johnson Wagner (PP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Y.E. Yang (NP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Lucas Glover (NP) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Scott McCarron (LQ) | E | 72 |
| T113 | Bobby Gates (PP) | E | 72 |
| T130 | Stephen Ames (PP) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Mike Weir (PP) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Mark Brooks (NP) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Chris Stroud (LQ) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Jesper Parnevik (LQ) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Richard H. Lee (LQ) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Scott Verplank (PP) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Stewart Cink (LQ) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Charles Howell III (NP) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Retief Goosen (NP) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Peter Jacobsen (LQ) | 1 | 73 |
| T130 | Danny Lee (LQ) | 1 | 73 |
| T142 | Ricky Barnes (LQ) | 2 | 74 |
| T142 | Geoff Ogilvy (NP) | 2 | 74 |
| T142 | Mark Wilson (NP) | 2 | 74 |
| T142 | Tommy Gainey (PP) | 2 | 74 |
| T142 | Justin Thomas (LQ) | 2 | 74 |
| T147 | Troy Merritt (PP) | 3 | 75 |
| T147 | Will Wilcox (LQ) | 3 | 75 |
| T147 | Troy Matteson (PP) | 3 | 75 |
| T147 | D.J. Trahan (NP) | 3 | 75 |
| T147 | Lee Janzen (NP) | 3 | 75 |
| T147 | John Mallinger (LQ) | 3 | 75 |
| T147 | Ben Martin (LQ) | 3 | 75 |
| T154 | Alan Scheer (PP) | 7 | 79 |
| T154 | Trevor Immelman (LQ) | 7 | 79 |
| WD | Boo Weekley | -- | -- |
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