Jerry Kelly rang up six birdies in a row late in his opening round on Friday, and he shares the early lead with Matt Gogel at the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.
Kelly’s 7-under-par 65 saw him roll in birdies at Nos. 12-17, including par-3s at Nos. 13 and 17 at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge.
That run actually boosted him to 8 under, but he finished on a sour note at the par-5 18th when he went from bunker to bunker, reached the green in four and two-putted for his only bogey of the day.
“I didn’t even realize I was on a pretty good birdie streak until I saw it on 17, that was fun,” Kelly said. “I knew I was 8 under but didn’t know I just made six in a row.”
Kelly, 58, will try to win the Boeing Classic for the second time. It was the site of his first PGA Tour Champions victory in 2017; now he is searching for his 14th title overall.
“It’s special because of this whole area, I love it,” Kelly said. “When I can look around and forget about golf, that’s a great thing for me. It’s so beautiful up here that it can even make me forget about golf.”
He and Gogel take a one-stroke lead over Paul Goydos into the weekend.
Gogel was one of the last players to finish and capped off a busy day with birdies at Nos. 8-9 to tie Kelly for the lead. Gogel recorded nine birdies and two bogeys. He was 1 over through six holes before birdieing eight of his final 12 holes.
Goydos, meanwhile, turned in a bogey-free card, with five of his six birdies coming on the front nine.
“For nine holes I really couldn’t have done much better. Everything was exactly what I was trying to do for the most part,” Goydos said. “Back nine I played solid. I didn’t hit the putter quite as well. I hit it to two inches on 12 for my only birdie on the back.”
Six players are tied for fourth at 5-under 67: Brandt Jobe, David Duval, Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson, New Zealand’s Steven Alker, Fiji’s Vijay Singh and Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke.
Two-time defending champion Stephen Ames of Canada opened with a 2-under 70.
–Field Level Media
