Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports
Some athletes begin their professional careers with a better performance than others, and it doesn’t get a whole lot better for a PGA Tour rookie than the round that Scott Langley had in the first round of the Sony Open on Thursday.
Langley fired an eight-under par 62 to take the lead after the first round. Only slightly off of his pace was another rookie, and good friend, Russell Henley, who carded a seven-under par 63. Morgan Hoffman, also a fresh face on the tour, finished his round with a 66, which was good for a tie for seventh.
Not a bad start for a group of rookies, some of whom happen to be close friends from their time in amateur golf. Langley and Henley were the low amateurs at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and played together in the Palmer Cup that same year. It certainly looks as if Langley has the right outlook on things, as he stated after the round “It was fun to be able to break the ice on all our careers playing with friends.”
It’s not often that a pair of rookies steals the show in the first full tournament of the year that features the likes of Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar and several more of the biggest names in the sport. That is precisely what happened, however. Thankfully, it was for their solid performances, and not the fact that they completely melted down.
Now that some of these rookies have come out of the gates seemingly ready to go, it will be interesting to see how they respond. Do they continue to play well or does the pressure get to them at some point? I guess we’ll find out over the next three days.
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