Birdie blitz fuels Ryan Palmer in lid-lifter
May 9, 2013 - 6:20 PM ET
Ryan Palmer turned in a 5-under-par 32-35=67 for his opening round of THE PLAYERS.
Palmer was the first of today's afternoon wave to take it this deep. He set the tone for possibility early with five straight birdies beginning at the 12th hole. He'd add three on his second nine to total eight on the day, but his only notable conversion was a par save from 23'9" at No. 7. The bad news is that he swallowed a bogey-6 at 11, where he rinsed his approach, and a double at the par-3 eighth. He signed his card sitting four strokes off the clubhouse lead. It's a great score given he hit only 10 greens in regulation. It's also the first time in 17 rounds at TPC Sawgrass that he's broken 70. He's cashed just once (T75, 2007).
