Canadians Maude-Aimée Leblanc and Brooke M. Henderson had a nightmarish first round at the Volunteers of America Classic on Thursday at The Colony, Texas.
The Sherbrooke resident gave a card of 77 (+6) while the Ontarian played 76 (+5), far from the leader Xiyu Lin (65; -6).
The day started off well for Leblanc. After scoring the birdie on the first pennant and respecting par on the next three holes, she showed a completely different face. Struggling to reach the fairway on his tee shots (six for 13), the 33-year-old was unable to overcome his clumsiness on the greens. She committed five bogeys between fifth and 13e pennants and finished the round with a double bogey.
If Henderson did slightly better, it’s not because of his consistency. The darling of Canadian golf had four birdies, but failed seven times, including two double bogeys.
The day went much better for their compatriot Maddie Szeryk. Author of a round of 67 (-4), she tied for fourth place. Alena Sharp played par (71) to reach 26e position.
Nick Taylor not far from the lead
On the PGA side, Canadian Nick Taylor earned a spot in the top 10 after a round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.
The Manitoban had a rollercoaster second half of the day to deliver a card of 68 (-4). After stalling four birdies on the front nine, he cut off par shots on the 14e and at 15e pennant, but his two bogeys negated his progress.
Had it not been a bogey at 18e hole, Taylor would have positioned himself in the top three, a position that seven golfers already share after one day. All will be within reach of Americans Davis Riley and Will Gordon, who dominated Thursday with scores of 66 (-6). The first had a faultless day marked by six birdies.
Among the other Canadians in the running, Adam Svensson is just one stroke behind Taylor, at 14e rank. Mackenzie Hughes was also able to play under par with a 71 (-1) card.
Michael Gligic (68)eN), Adam Hadwin (88e+1) and Ben Silverman (88e+1) are the other representatives of the maple leaf to participate in this tournament.