Austin Smotherman fired a bogey-free 9-under 62, including six straight birdies in the middle of his round, to take the first-round lead at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches on Thursday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Nico Echavarria of Colombia sits one back after a 63, while a six-man group featuring Taylor Moore, Jackson Suber, Kevin Roy, Daniel Berger, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan and Sweden’s Pontus Nyholm rounded out the early chase pack with 4-under 67s.
Recent PGA Tour returnee Brooks Koepka never found much rhythm in his Florida return. He was 4-over for his last six holes, including a double bogey at the par-3 17th, and signed for a 3-over 74 that left him buried in a tie for 98th heading into Friday.
David Ford’s card was the opposite of steady. After starting his round on the back nine, Ford took a disastrous quadruple bogey at the 17th that saw him take multiple shots while standing in water. He then erased the damage in a hurry by holing out for eagle on both the 2nd and 3rd holes to finish at 1-over 72 in a tie for 68th.
