In the wake of his first career win at the regional, Purdue’s Cole Bradley cruised to bogey-free 4-under-par 66 in the first round of the championship. He picked up two birdies early on 2 and 4, then showed both power and grace with birdies at the burly 650-yard par-5 11th as well as the wee par-3 16th.
“I got a good look at the course and knew the spots you could be and couldn’t be and just kind of kept it in front of me today and played solid all day,” Bradley told Golfweek after his round. “I’m just taking it one shot at a time and just having fun with dad,” who happens to be head coach, Rob Bradley.
Cole Bradley – Ro. 1 Leader
William Mouw – 2019 Thunderbird International Junior
Playing as an individual, Bradley sits atop a crowded leaderboard, one stroke clear of two players from Sam Houston – William Holcomb and Ting-Wei Hseih – and Oklahoma State’s Bo Jin, joining them at 3-under 67. From there: Twelve players are at 2-under par, and 11 more players are three back at 1-under par heading into Saturday’s second round.
Two off the pace, T5, Pepperdine’s William Mouw holds fond memories of Grayhawk; he won the 2019 Thunderbird International Junior, a prestigious AJGA invitational played on Raptor, 2000-2019. In the win, Mouw got off to a tremendous start with a 5-under-par 65. Today unfolded much the same way. Mouw reached five-under par after 10 holes, but unfortunately, gave three shots back before settling at 2-under 68.
Also at 2-under par, Arizona State’s Mason Andersen led the Sun Devils, making two more birdies and bogeys on the day.
