Munoz, Hadley ride afternoon wave to top of JDC leaderboard

Playing in the afternoon wave and not daunted by low numbers posted early, Sebastian Munoz and Chesson Hadley went even deeper to jump to the top of the JDC leaderboard.

That twosome carded rounds of 8-under 63 and took a one-shot lead after the opening round of the 50th PGA Tour event in the Quad-Cities. Munoz finished with five straight birdies, beginning on No. 14. Hadley matched his lowest round on Tour since 2017.

Also in the early evening, Hank Lebioda nearly made it a threesome on top of the 156-man field shooting for their share of the $6.2 million purse. However, a bogey on his final hole dropped him into a tie for third with Chez Reavie and Camilo Villegas at 64.

The leaderboard is bunched with five players tied for seventh at 66 and 17 tied for 12th at 67.

The afternoon group making waves bucked a previous trend of morning players usually able to hold the lead.

The early 7-under scores by Reavie and Villegas didn't alter how the guys in the afternoon attacked the par-71 course that played to a stroke average of 69.877. Neither did the 65 by 2016 JDC champ Ryan Moore, who sits solo sixth.

“The scores are always low here, always,” said Hadley, noting he did see leaderboards before his round but didn't dwell on the numbers. “I knew you'd have to just kind of go get it.”

And they went after it in the afternoon wave. Hadley played bogey-free golf. Munoz and Lebioda each had one — Lebioda closing his day with a 5 on the par-4 ninth.

The two Columbians — Munoz and Villegas — as well as Lebioda and Hadley took the tourist route to the top of the leaderboard. Munoz hit just nine of 14 fairways, which was still better than Villegas and Hadley's eight and Lebioda's seven.

Still, all of them felt as if they played well.

“It was a really solid round,” said Munoz. “Hit the ball really good all day. I got hot with the putter coming in. I wasn't making a lot on the front nine, so it was nice to see them go in on the back. You know, overall solid golf, make the putts, hit the shots.”

Despite many approaches coming from thick, lush rough, Munoz hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation and made 137-feet, 2-inches worth of putts. From 14 through 18, he made birdie putts of 6 feet, 8 inches; 10-8; 14-7; 18-2 and 12-3.

Hadley hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and made 97-feet, 8-inches worth of putts.

“I kind of did it all good today. That was an easy question,” said Hadley when asked about what went well. “Sorry, hopefully that doesn't sound arrogant. But I did. I put the ball in the fairway — I got a couple good breaks. I hit a couple foul balls, but the putter felt good and my iron game was sharp, so I was giving myself opportunities, and it was just a great day.”

It was great for Lebioda until his finishing hole when a wayward tee shot led to his lone bogey.

“I played really well,” said Lebioda, who hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. “It stinks that's how you finish, but at the same time I think some of the putts I made throughout the round today make up for it for sure, especially the first one.”

That first one was a 26-foot, 8-inch birdie putt on No. 10 to kick-start his day. He added a 37-foot, 4-inch bomb on No. 15 and two others of at least 12-feet.

In the morning, the leaders posted rounds that were much more mundane as Reavie and Moore took advantage of plenty of course knowledge.

Reavie used his accuracy en route to a clean scorecard that included pars on all three par-5s. He hit 13 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens. Dropping 108 feet of putts also helped in his ninth Q-C start.

Moore had to stop himself a minute to think about his round that included hitting all 18 greens in regulation and 13 of 14 fairways. He made his fair share of putts — 115-feet, 4-inches worth — but he also agonized over missed birdie putts on his final four holes starting on 15.

He said being back on familiar turf “just makes you feel good" after opening his 12th QC tourney by matching his Deere Run low round. “You know that that score is out there, you know you're capable. So it's almost that side of it that helps just kind of get you excited to go out and say, I know I can shoot 6-under on this golf course. I've done it before, so let's go out and do it again.”

Villegas' opening 65 in his 10th Q-C start was also bogey-free. It included five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 second hole when he dropped a 196-yard second shot to six-feet, one-inch and made the putt.

He led the morning wave in strokes gained tee to green and approach the green, playing the par 5s in 3-under, the par 4s and 3s in 2-under each.

And he did that with limited practice this week.

“I've been around this place way too many times,” he said. “I played nine holes on Tuesday and then we got rained out yesterday in the pro-am that I was supposed to play the back nine, and I didn't get a chance to see it. … I've played here many times, so it was fine.”