Nicholasville, Kentucky — Lucas Glover continued the hot streak that began when he turned into a long putter, hitting a 9-under 63 on Thursday to lead the Barbasol Championship.
The 43-year-old Glover extended his streak of consecutive tours in the 60s to nine. After battling with his status for years, the 2009 US Open champion started using a broomstick two weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and finished tied for fourth. He followed that up with a sixth draw last week at the John Deere Classic.
“I got the confidence to shoot and do some of those mid-range shots and get really comfortable with the short shots again,” Glover said. “Any time you practice well, it takes the pressure off the rest of your game. You don’t feel too much pressure to get it perfect, which just isn’t possible.”
PGA Tour veterans Ryan Moore and Ryan Armor both bowled 64 at Keene Trace Club.
Glover made six birdies on the lead nine to turn 5-under 31. He then drilled a 138-yard approach for an eagle on the par-4 4th and made back-to-back birdies in the 15th and 16th holes.
Glover won the last of his four PGA Tour titles at John Deere two years ago.
“There haven’t been a lot of low-key tours until recently, but I’ve always loved this time of year and that stretch,” said Glover, who is playing Barbasol for the first time. “Having a high temperature at the right time, 63 anytime anywhere is pretty good. I’ll take it.”
Armor, was one of the first guys out Thursday morning, and Moore was almost as impressive on a sunny, wet day.
Bird shield #2-5 and close with another series of four straight birds. Moore flew each of the four Par 5’s on his Stealth-Free Tour.
“I had three good chances to eagle, which I never made,” Moore said, “but having two birdies with two batters three times a day is good, and not hitting two batters is great.”
Daniel Brown, Wesley Bryan, Cody Gribble and Andrew Novak each shoot 65.
The group that took the lead included four European players who traveled across the Atlantic for the combined event: Marcus Helgekeld of Denmark, Marcus Kinholt of Sweden, Ángel Hildago Portillo of Spain and American Johannes Firman. They are joined by Americans Adam Long and Bo van Pelt and Swede Vincent Norman, who plays on the PGA Tour.