Palmer Fires Record-Tying Round at Colonial


Ryan Palmer matched the lowest opening round in tournament history, firing an 8-under 62 to take the 18-hole lead in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The $6.4 million PGA Tour event began Thursday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Palmer, a native of Amarillo and Colonial member with three Tour wins, posted four birdies on the front nine and four more on the back to go up by a stroke over John Rollins and two over Morgan Hoffman and a pair of Canadians, David Hearn and Graham DeLaet.

Palmer matched the first-round mark set by Patrick Sheehan in 2005, David Toms and Chez Reavie (both in '11).

Palmer told PGATour.com that he was challenged by his caddie, James Donaldson - an outstanding golfer and fellow Colonial member (and three-time club champion), who also shot a 62 on the course.

"See if you can match my low score on this course," Donaldson told Palmer on the back nine. "What do you do when you get that thrown at you? . . . We had a good laugh on that one," said Palmer, who noted his previous low round on the historic layout was a 65.

Though he's a long way from winning on his home course, Palmer told PGATour.com it would be a dream come true to have his name etched on the Wall of Champions at the first tee. "I can't begin to tell you what it would mean if it happens," he said. "Hopefully I'll be able to tell you on Sunday."

Among the players sharing sixth after 65s is Matt Kuchar, who had six birdies and a bogey on the par-70 course, and Dallas native and crowd favorite, Jordan Spieth.

The winner in last week's HP Byron Nelson Championship, South Korea's Sang-Moon Bae, opened with a 69, a score matched by Colonial's defending champion Zach Johnson.

For all the scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.