Charley Hoffman and Ryan Palmer used three eagles to shoot 16 under in a scramble format Friday and take the first-round lead at the QBE Shootout in Naples, Fla.
Hoffman and Palmer added 10 birdies at Tiburon Golf Club to post a 56, one shot shy of the tournament scramble record of 55.
They have a two-shot lead over two teams: Canada’s Corey Conners and South Korea’s K.H. Lee, and Max Homa and Kevin Kisner, both at 14 under.
Hoffman and Palmer are no strangers to the event, which will employ modified alternate shot for Saturday’s second round and four-ball for the final round Sunday. They have played in a combined nine QBE Shootouts before — Palmer combined with Harold Varner III to scramble for a 55 in 2019 — but it’s the first time they’re playing together.
The pair eagled the par-5 first, sixth and 17th holes. They missed a birdie at the par-4 18th hole that would have tied the scramble record.
“Ryan told me at the beginning of the week we need to tie his record of 17 under and I mean, I fell short, so I feel like I had a down day. He didn’t come through at the end there making that putt,” Hoffman joked.
Hoffman turns 46 later this month and Palmer is nearly three months from his 46th birthday, making them the oldest tandem in the field of 12 teams.
“We’re both going on 19, 20 years on the PGA Tour, so we’ve been around each other this long,” Palmer said.
Homa and Kisner were the pre-tournament favorites. With Homa ranked No. 16 in the world and Kisner No. 31, they were the best-ranked duo in the field.
Homa and Kisner combined for an eagle and 12 birdies, with Kisner deflecting all of the praise toward his partner.
“I just rode Max like a stallion all day long and whenever he felt like I needed to participate, he let me know and I tried to throw my two cents in,” Kisner said.
Tied for fourth at 12-under 60 are two pairings featuring LPGA stars playing the event for the first time: Lexi Thompson, paired with Maverick McNealy, and Nelly Korda, playing with Denny McCarthy.
–Field Level Media