2017 Rex Hospital Open: Hadley leads early with opening-round 64

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

RALEIGH, N.C. – Chesson Hadley was the early clubhouse leader during opening-round play at the 2017 Rex Hospital Open at TPC Wakefield Plantation on Thursday.

The 2013 Rex Open champion set the pace and carded a 7-under par 64 on a course layout he was very familiar with.

Hadley hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation and made efficient work of 26 total putts to hold a one stroke lead over Carlos Ortiz and Stephan Jaeger who finished with matching 65s.

“What a great day,” Hadley said.

“Just to go out and play the way I did today was so nice. I think it’s the lowest round I’ve shot in a couple of years. I hit some good shots, I made a couple of putts. We’ve got a long way to go, so we just need to stay calm and keep pluggin’ along.”

Notables: Three-time tournament champion Kyle Thompson sat tied for fourth at 5-under par (66) with three others, while Duke alum Wes Roach was two strokes behind tied for ninth with a number of others including Jason Gore and Stuart Appleby who also finished with matching 68s. N.C. State alum Albin Choi finished his day at 1-under after a birdie on his final hole put him in the final grouping of those in red numbers on the day.

2017 Rex Hospital Open – Leaderboard

Updated: 6:00 p.m.