VALDOSTA —
Robert Streb shot a 6-under par 66 to grab the first round lead of the South Georgia Classic presented by First State Bank and Trust Company at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club on Thursday.
Playing on the long, challenging Kinderlou Course for the first time in his career, Streb raced out to an early lead in the morning hours to finish his best round of the season.
“I’m a little bit surprised by it,” said Streb of holding the lead. “I hit the ball pretty well today, had a couple three-putts, but besides that I made pretty much everything I looked at, so the putter was really, really good today.
“Obviously, it is one of those things where you would like to be leading, but it is a little bit different. You are not chasing anyone, everyone is chasing you,” continued Streb, who admitted he glanced at the leaderboard out of curiosity to see where he stood throughout his round.
After teeing off at 8:45 a.m., and starting his round on hole No. 10, Streb raced out to an impressive start that saw him birdie five of his first seven holes, while giving a stroke back on the par 4 No. 12, which came he missed the fairway on his tee shot.
“I made a good putt on No. 11, made a good shot out of the bunker on 12, and ended up three-putting, and then I ended up making three good birdies in a row — two-putted the par 5 and made a 30-footer and a 20-footer — and then I was kind of off and going.”
Following his hot start, Streb managed two birdies on the front nine holes (Nos. 3 and 7) to close out his round at six-under par. After his opening round, he credited his putter for his low score, as he had to sink several long putts, outside of the 10-foot range, to save birdies and pars.
“The putter was just really good today,” he said.
Brian Stuard, Luke List and Sihwan Kim are tied for second at 5-under par. Stuard was the early leader in the clubhouse after shooting a 67, while List was tied for the lead later in the afternoon before bogeying the par 4 seventh that dropped him into a tie for second.
List, who started his opening round on the 10th hole, birdied five holes and bogeyed one on the back nine to sit at 4-under par at his turn. On the front nine, which he played second, he managed a birdie on the par 5 second, and another on the par 5 fifth, which put him in a tie for a share of the lead, until he bogeyed the seventh.
“I hit a great shot to two-feet (away) on the first hole and then a great flop shot on the 11th hole, my second hole, to a couple feet,” said List when asked about his fast start. “To have those tap-ins, it gets your confidence when you’re not doing a whole lot.”
Stuard, who teed off in the second group of the morning from hole No. 1, took full advantage of the par 5’s, going 4-under par on the four holes. He then posted a birdie on the par 4 18th to bring his score to 5-under.
“I played pretty solid, all the way around,” Stuard said. “I didn’t get into a lot of trouble. I hit a lot of greens, a lot of fairways, and I putted pretty well. It was a fun round. There are so many par 4’s that are 450-plus, you have to take advantage when you can make a birdie.”
Prior to Thursday’s round, Stuard had missed the cut in both of his appearances in the South Georgia Classic (2009, 2011), but he credited a strong understanding of the course for his opening round success that saw him post no bogeys.
“I have never really played it good,” said Stuard of the course. “I feel like I finally have some good lines off the tees, especially the par 5’s, I guess. Like on No. 4, I have been hitting it left of the bunkers, and now I am hitting it over to the right of the bunkers and use the slope to get it right down there, so I think if you hit in the fairways, you will be pretty good.”
Kim was the final player to complete his opening round. He moved into second place with a birdie on the final hole.
Anthony Rodriguez and Diego Valasquez, are tied at 4-under par, while 10 players are tied for seventh at 3-under par.
Conditions favored were warm those golfers that played in the morning hours. With cooler temperatures, less wind and less firm greens, players were able to post lower scores than those that teed off in the afternoon, which featured warmer temperatures and wind gusts of 15 miles per hour, although some players, including List, were able to post low scores.
The field will flip the order it went off on Thursday. Those that teed off in the morning hours on Thursday will tee off in the afternoon hours today. Players that also teed off on hole No. 1 on Thursday will go off from No. 10 today, leveling the competition of the field.
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