With all eyes on the heavyweight slug-fest between Luke Donald and Webb Simpson for the PGA Tour money title, the golfer on the bubble stole the show with an early opening-round lead in the fall series finale at Disney.
James Driscoll began the week anchoring the all-exempt No. 125 spot and knew he had to toss darts this week to keep his tour card. A torrid par-birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie start and back-to-back birds on his final two holes (he started on No. 10) set the pace for Driscoll’s 6-under 66 on the Palm Course. Even a double-bogey on the par-4 sixth hole did not halt the momentum of the 34-year-old New England native.
Worcester, Mass., native Scott Stallings, Arjun Atwal and Donald — a last-minute entrant to the tourney and seeking the money titles on both the PGA and European Tours — shared the lead but each was still playing the Palm Course as Driscoll finished. Simpson, playing with Donald, was 3-under after 15 holes.
Driscoll entered the week squarely at the cutoff point for players seeking to gain or retain full playing privileges for the 2012 season. A win would be the first on tour for Driscoll, who tuned up for the Disney tilt with a promotional fitting on Monday at The International’s TaylorMade Performance Lab outside Boston. His fifth-place finish at the Travelers Championship in June stands as his best finish since graduating from the Nationwide Tour, where he posted one W.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the The A Position, Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
Related posts:
- On the bubble, Driscoll plays for 2012 PGA Tour card
- Boston golfer James Driscoll flirts with 59 in Puerto Rico Open
- Driscoll to employ belly putter he wants banned
- At The Travelers Championship JAMES DRISCOLL:
- The 2011 Traveler's Championship
