Hoffman takes lead at wind-swept Valero
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SAN ANTONIO, TX - MARCH 26: Charley Hoffman tees off on the eighth hole during round one of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio AT&T Oaks Course on March 26, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
AN ANTONIO (AP) -- Charley Hoffman took advantage of calmer afternoon conditions to take the first-round lead in the wind-swept Valero Texas Open, shooting a 5-under 67 on Thursday.
After wind gusts threatening 40 mph pummeled the morning starters, Hoffman faced steady 15 mph wind in the afternoon at TPC San Antonio. He had the lone bogey-free round, birdieing Nos. 2, 3, 9, 11 and 17.
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The winner last year in Mexico at the start of the wraparound season, Hoffman has eight top-10 finishes in nine appearances in San Antonio. He was second in 2011 and third in 2013.
Aaron Baddeley was second after a 68. The Australian had a remarkable birdie on the par-4 17th when he snap-hooked his drive deep into thick woods, went back to the tee and holed out from 336 yards.
Max Homa had a 69, and Phil Mickelson and Ryan Palmer shot 70.
Mickelson, winless since the the Open Championship in 2013, lost the clubhead off his 8-iron when it came flying off while he hit from a fairway bunker on the 12th hole.
With gusts reaching 38 mph early in the day, no one with a morning tee time managed to break par. Only Matt Kuchar and Cameron Percy matched it, and conditions might have been worse if not for maintenance crews slithering hoses onto some of the greens to water them down.
The stroke average for the morning wave was 78.61 and the overall average was 75.9.
From the 69 players in the morning, 23 failed to break 80. Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson managed to keep it in the 70s, but they had their struggles with the wind.
Furyk opened his day with a 52-foot birdie putt, but he shot 76. Johnson had a 78, his worst since shooting a first-round 80 before withdrawing last year from the Houston Open.
U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer had a two triple bogeys in an 82.
Defending champion Steven Bowditch opened with an 80.
Sam Burns, an 18-year-old high school senior from Sherevport, Louisiana, who earned a spot in the field by winning the Junior PGA Championship last summer, carded an 89 with a quadruple bogey at No. 9.
Hoffman took the lead when he drove near the collar of the 17th green, chipped up and made a 6-footer for birdie.
