Day holds one-shot lead after first round of Wells Fargo Championship

POTOMAC — Jason Day used eight birdies, including five on the back nine, to post a 7-under 63 and take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm on Thursday.

“I’ve got to give myself a pat on the back,” Day said after his round, his third of 7-under or better this season, “because I played some nice golf today.”

Day has had his struggles recently, missing the cut four times this season and falling to 127th in the world. But the Australian hit 12 of 18 fairways for his round, made five of those birdies from inside 10 feet to the hole and executed his shots well all day from tee to green.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself because I know that it’s easy in the position I am right now after a good round to get ahead of myself and start talking where it could potentially go, but I think I’ve just got to stay as present as possible,” Day said. 

“Because if I can swing it the way I’m swinging it and have the short game and the touch that I have on the greens … I mean, I played some really good golf today. I feel like I can get back to where I need to be.”

Joel Dahmen carded seven birdies to finish at 64, and is one shot back of Day in sole possession of second place. He opened with six of those birdies in his first eight holes and led in strokes gained on approaching the green at 4.6 better than the rest of the field.

“They’re not all supposed to go at the pin like that,” Dahmen said of his approaches, “but all my misses were going right at the pin, and I had some really good numbers out there.”

The stubbornly-cloudy day never yielded to forecasted sunshine. That made for a receptive-to-scoring Avenel Farm course, especially on the back nine. Hole numbers 10 through 18 played to a cumulative 68-under par in the first round, including five eagles, while the front nine only played to 1-over on the day.

Five golfers are tied for third at 5-under, including local favorite and fifth-year pro Denny McCarthy. The Rockville native posted a 65 Thursday, his lowest opening-round score on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2019 season.

“It was just a great day,” McCarthy said. “I felt really comfortable out there, was seeing the lines on the greens, was seeing the shots from the fairways, and I just had a really good, clear committed picture all day.”

McCarthy acknowledged a little bit of stress and tension being the “home” golfer this week. But the Georgetown Prep and University of Virginia alum planned out his week to get more familiar with a course he hasn’t played “as many times as people think,” and the homework paid off.

“I played nine Sunday, played nine Monday, played nine Tuesday, played nine Wednesday, and really spent some time coming up with a game plan,” McCarthy said, “and have felt really comfortable executing it.”

He also complimented his mother’s meals, saying his dinner of steak, crab cakes, and salad he had Wednesday night hit the spot, and is excited to get home cooking the rest of the week.

“She likes to change it up a little bit, but usually her meals are pretty darn good,” McCarthy said, “so I’m excited for her surprise tonight.”

Defending tournament champion Rory McIlroy in some ways picked up where he left off in his first tournament since the Masters. The world No. 7 carded seven birdies along with three bogeys en route to finishing 3-under 67, tied for 17th.

“I left a couple out there,” McIlroy said. “The three-putt there [on the par-3 17th], if I hadn’t made five [on 11]. I’m still pretty happy with 67. It could have been a 65 or a 64, but it’s still a good start.”

McIlroy’s tee shot on the par-4 4th found the lengthy lake along the left side of the fairway, but he recovered with subsequent back-to-back birdies to finish his round. His hot start on the back nine, with five birdies in his first six holes, ties a career-best for most birdies or better on the first nine holes of a tournament.

“I said to myself walking off the green [at No. 4], if I could just get back to 3-under for the day by the end of the day after that, I would be pretty happy,” McIlroy said. “Obviously, I did that within the next two holes. I had some chances coming in, but yeah, happy with the day.”

The shot of the day initially belonged to Rickie Fowler, who holed out a bogey on the par-4 6th from 134 yards after losing his drive — the longest-recorded holed bogey or worse by any player on by the PGA Tour’s ShotLink system. Fowler finished 4-under, tied for eighth.

“Actually had a little bit of mud on the ball from hitting in the hazard and played it perfectly,” Fowler said of the shot. “It drifted right for me, and I was just hoping to make 6 and get out of there, but 5 was a bonus.”

But Sergio Garcia one-upped him on No. 15. After a 324-yard drive, his second shot to the downhill green took two short bounces past the hole and spun back into the cup for a 161-yard eagle. Garcia finished 3-under, but his round is more noteworthy for comments he made after sending his tee shot on No. 10 astray.

Garcia felt tournament officials started the clock for him to look for his lost ball too early, and he muttered multiple gripes, including “just a couple more weeks until I don’t have to deal with you anymore” within earshot of television microphones. Garcia is expected to join the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Tour and didn’t take questions from reporters after his round.

Multiple players mentioned they’re aware of the impending change in course conditions, as severe weather across the D.C. area is expected to have a significant impact on Friday’s second round. Day predicted “we’re going to go into grind mode over the next few days,” and McIlroy said he’ll get a little bit of recovery treatment to be ready and wait it out with the rest of the field.

“I’m not going to do much,” McIlroy said. “Just chill out and maybe try to find somewhere nice for dinner and get ready for the rain tomorrow.”