Pierceson Coody shoots 11-under 61 to take lead at ISCO Championship

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Pierceson Coody shot an 11-under 61 — the lowest round in his brief PGA TOUR career — to take the first-round lead Thursday in the ISCO Championship.

Coody had 11 birdies in the bogey-free morning round on Keene Trace Golf Club’s Champions Trace, making six straight birdies on Nos. 5-10. He made a 5-footer for birdie on the par-4 18th for the last of his 20 putts.

“I’ve been putting really nice all season,” said Coody, the 24-year-old grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody. “It’s kind of a core set if you keep it in play, keep it in front of you, you have a lot of wedges, you end up with a lot of looks for birdie. It’s just one of those days that I saw a ton of putts go in.”

Hayden Springer was three strokes back at 64 with Rico Hoey of the Philippines in the tournament co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour.

Springer had nine birdies and a bogey in the afternoon session, also closing with a birdie on 18. Last week in the John Deere Classic in Illinois, the TOUR rookie opened with a 59 and tied for seventh.

“I played really solid all day,” Springer said. “Hit a bunch of greens and was able to make a few putts.”

Hoey eagled the par-5 eighth and had six birdies in a bogey-free morning round.

“I knew the scores were going to be low today, so I wanted to go out and start firing and that’s what I did,” Hoey said. “The weather was really nice. The wind wasn’t too crazy, it was swirling a little bit but it was pretty calm out there.”

Alexander Knappe had two front-nine eagles in a 65. Lanto Griffin also was at 65 with Andy Sullivan, Justin Suh, Andrea Pavan, Andrew Wilson, Francesco Laporta, Angel Hidalgo Portillo and Ryan McCormick.

Luke Clanton, the Florida State sophomore who tied for second in the John Deere Classic, bogeyed the final two holes for a 70 in the afternoon. He’s the first amateur since Billy Joe Patton in 1958 to finish in the top 10 in consecutive PGA TOUR-sanctioned starts.

Coody is winless in 26 career starts on the PGA TOUR. At the John Deere, the Texan closed with a 64 to tie for 30th.

“Sunday at John Deere, it was a good step in the right direction,” Coody said. “This is obviously continuing that right direction.”