5 things from first round of 2024 Wyndham Championship including Beau Hossler ‘settling’ for 60 and FedEx Cup drama heating up

Photo; David Jensen/Getty Images
The rain relented, the sun peeked out and the Wyndham Championship began in earnest and Beau Hossler took advantage of receptive greens to shoot 10-under 60 at Sedgefield Country Club and gain a four-stroke lead over four players among those who were able to finish their opening round before play was suspended due to darkness at 8:12 p.m. with 66 players still on the course.

“I was shocked how early we played given how wet it was,” said Kevin Kisner of the 9:50 a.m start after the storm dumped more than five inches of rain on the course on Thursday, postponing play and forcing the use of preferred lies in the opening round.

Victor Perez echoed that sentiment. “Everything that’s been going on the last few days, I think we’re very lucky to play and I think the course is about as good as they could have done,” he said.

“I’m sure the grounds staff was here really early with extra rain at 6:00, so shout-out to them for getting us out there and playing.”

Play is expected to resume on Saturday at 7 a.m., and the second round would begin at 7:40 a.m. With the final tee of the second round expected to tee off at 3:12 p.m., the hope is to complete the second round on Saturday and make a cut and play 36 holes on Sunday.

The Wyndham Championship is the 35th and final regular season FedEx Cup event. Here are five things to know about the biggest movers in the chase for the top 70 in the season-long points standings who are seeking to earn a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Hossler “settles” for 60

Beau Hossler of the United States plays his shot from the 16th tee during the first round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 09, 2024 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

Beau Hossler isn’t one to take a day off too often but on Thursday he had no choice. He sat around, watched Games of Thrones, drank some coffee and let his physio make him and some friends chicken parmesan. He has been wearing a Whoop for the last month and it told him he had just four minutes of stress on Thursday. When did he experience those moments of high stress?

“I think it was me driving to the coffee shop in the middle of a hurricane,” he said.

Friday’s opening first round was pretty stress-free too. Hossler opened 6 under in his first five holes, including sticking a 6-iron to two feet at the par-5 fifth.

“Tap-in eagles are usually nice for the scorecard,” he said.

Hossler, who entered the week at No. 87 in the FedEx Cup and needs at least a solo-third place finish or better to have a chance at making it to Memphis for the FedEx St. Jude, sank a 48-foot birdie putt at the first and made the turn in 28. He added a birdie at 10 to go 8 under for the day but made his lone bogey of the day at 11 when he found the rough off the tee and failed to get up and down. He bounced back with birdies at Nos. 12 and 14 and officially put himself on 59 Watch when he made birdie at 15. Pars at Nos. 16 and 17 meant he needed one more circle on the card at the last, which he called the toughest hole on the course.

“I knew if I had any chance to make birdie, I had to get it in the fairway. Once I was in the left rough there was just no way I’d be able to get it on that shelf to have a real look,” he said.

Hossler missed the green and had to hole a seven-foot par putt – one of his few stressful moments of the day – to post 60 and his career-low round on the PGA Tour. It also was 17 strokes better than what he shot here in the first round last year. Hossler has missed the cut in three of his four previous appearances and finished T-65 the lone time he made the cut. His previous low at Sedgefield had been 67.

“So, of course, I shot 60,” he said. “It was one of those days where it felt like kind of everything went right.”

Kuchar must win or FedEx Cup streak will die

Matt Kuchar of the United States plays his shot from the 16th tee during the first round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 09, 2024 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

Matt Kuchar has been beaten by a lot of golfers this year, missing seven of eight cuts during one stretch this season and entering this week needing to win to qualify for the FedEx Cup. But last week, he lost to his son, Cameron, an aspiring teenage golfer, in a match at Gozzer Ranch in Idaho.

“First time he’s taken me down. One of those days I knew was going to happen sooner or later, knew I’d be proud, but at the same time wanted to hold it off as long as I could,” said Kuchar, who shot 71 and was edged by a stroke. “He had to make a 12-footer to save par on the last and I was sure he was going to miss, I was sure pressure was going to get the best of him, but he canned it and was very excited.”

Kuchar is attempting to hold on to another long-running streak – he’s the only player to qualify for the FedEx Cup in all 17 years since it debuted in 2007. At No. 112 in the standings, how much is he thinking about keeping that distinction alive for at least another year? Not much, he said.

“I’ve never seen how that can help you play better,” he said. “If you asked me where I stood, I wouldn’t know. Now we get those texts and I understand kind of where I stand with points. I don’t want to know how many points I need, I don’t want to know any of those things.”

Kuchar is coming off a T-3 at the 3M Open two weeks ago and spent some time with his instructor Chris O’Connell last week in Long Island. On Thursday, he picked up where he left off, shooting 6-under 64. Kuchar came home in 30, including four straight birdies beginning at No. 14. He made more than 126 feet in putts, gaining more than 4.5 strokes on the greens to lead the field in Strokes Gained: Putting among the early finishers.

“Fun way to finish today,” Kuchar said of his birdie streak.

Todd overcomes nerves

Brendon Todd watches his tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

At No. 69 in the FedEx Cup, Brendon Todd knows he has little room for error this week. Todd conceded he felt the pressure more than usual but he had one thing going for him – he’s playing one of his favorite courses on the PGA Tour.

“There’s no course I’d rather be playing this week,” he said. “It’s one of the six or eight weeks of the season where I feel like my game is tailor-made for the place, which creates a certain pressure of feeling like I need to take advantage.”

The North Carolina native did just that, finishing with four birdies on the last five holes to shoot 6-under 64. Todd played his typical game: he ranked 151st in distance off the tee but third in putting.

Bubble Boy starts well

Victor Perez of France putts on the 14th green during the first round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 09, 2024 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

Frenchman Victor Perez is coming off the high of shooting 8-under 63 in the final round of the Olympics on Sunday and finishing T-4 to narrowly miss out on a medal in his native land.

It would’ve been understandable if he had a letdown after being lifted around Le Golf National by a loving crowd last week and dealing with jet lag. When he made a double bogey at No. 11, his second hole of the day, he could’ve been deflated but he was not. The Bubble Boy at No. 70 in the FedEx Cup could’ve accepted that his bubble was likely going to burst. Instead, he battled back with seven birdies to shoot 4-under 66.

Perez didn’t get frustrated. He wasn’t sure why he was able to stay in a good frame of mind but whatever he tapped into worked.

“I think you go through like a few months where seems like nothing really can get to you. There’s so much going on, I think underneath the iceberg of just performance, your life, everything that’s going on sometimes can trigger you positively or negatively,” he explained. “Yeah, I’m obviously in a good place coming off a good result last week and try to keep it going.”

The key to keeping it together for Perez was a hot putter – he made 140 feet of putts on the day – “which has been the trend the last few rounds so really happy with that,” he said.

Billy Ho and Nick Taylor among top performers still on the course

Billy Horschel walks up to the first hole during the first round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a good battle emerging for low Taylor in the first round between Ben and Nick.

Canadian Nick Taylor, who won the WM Phoenix Open earlier this year, turned in 32 before making birdie on the first three holes of the back nine and another for good measure at 14 to sit at 7 under through 14 holes. Englishman Ben Taylor, who has made just five cuts in 20 starts this season, made birdie on seven of his first eight holes. But he bogeyed the last to shoot 6-under 64.

The low score among those players who didn’t finish their round belonged to Billy Horschel, who was 8 under through 16 holes. Horschel holed out from 143 yards for eagle at the second to shoot 29 on the front nine. Horschel, who finished fourth here last year and second in 2020, withdrew from the 3M Open before the tournament began citing illness. He played like the guy who finished T-2 at the British Open in his last start.

Here’s the projected last five in/out of the FedEx Cup top 70 when play was suspended:

66. Mark Hubbard

67. Nick Dunlap

68. Seamus Power

69. Victor Perez

70. Jonathan Vegas

71. Emiliano Grillo

72. Andrew Putnam

73. Kurt Kitayama

74. Davis Riley

75. Luke List