It looks like low scores could be in store at CJ Cup in South Carolina

Bob Spear
Dwayne McLemore/dmclemore@thestate.com

The PGA Tour’s top golfers illustrated how to make a tough course look easy in perfect conditions in Thursday’s opening round of the CJ Cup in South Carolina at Congaree Golf Club.

“A lovely morning out there for golf this morning,” Steve Lowry said after his 3-under-par 68 left him behind more than a dozen players in the event that attracted 15 of the top 20 players in the world ranking.

Lowry called the Congaree layout “very gettable,” and the numbers on the scoreboard attested to his observation. More than half of the 78-player field matched or bettered par with Trey Mullinax and Gary Woodland leading the parade with 6-under 65s.

The course is located in rural Jasper County.

“The weather’s supposed to be even better with hardly any wind” the rest of the week, Woodland said. “You’re going to have to play aggressive out here.”

Hang on, and see how low the scores can go.

CJ Cup leaders

Top scores below. Full leaderboard here.

  • Trey Mullinax 65 (-6)

  • Gary Woodland 65 (-6)

  • Aaron Wise 66 (-5)

  • Wyndham Clark 66 (-5)

  • Tom Kim 66 (-5)

  • Rory McIlroy 66 (-5)

  • Cam Davis 66 (-5)

  • Kurt Kitayama 66 (-5)

Kim praises McIlroy

Tom Kim, who has two PGA Tour tournament wins before his 21st birthday, played in a pairing with Rory McIlroy for the first time and called the experience “really cool. He makes the game look so easy.”

Indeed, Kim had to focus hard to “play my own game.”

McIlroy, of course, is perhaps the best driver in the game, and Kim received a close-up look of just how long McIlroy hits the ball.

“Seeing the lines he took and it was like 380 (yards) to the runout and he was saying, ‘Sit,’ ” Kim said. “I was like, ‘really? Like, sit?’ It was like 380, but he almost made it. Things like that.”

Despite the differences in length, both Kim and McIlroy shot 5-under-par 66s and are in a logjam one shot off the lead.

No great start for Scheffler, Spieth

Not all of the “big names” enjoyed their first experience over Congaree’s 7,655-yard, par-71 layout.

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, hovered around par most of his round. Max Homa returned a scorecard with an assortment of birdies, bogeys, a double and very few pars. And Jordan Spieth ... 5-over-par after eight holes thanks to a triple on the par-4 seventh.

Friday weather forecast

Most of the lowest scores Thursday came from players who had morning tee times, which means they will face more challenging conditions Friday with afternoon starts.

Nevertheless, expect birdies to be plentiful.

“Play aggressive out here,” Woodland said. “The golf course is set up to make some birdies, it’s in great shape, so hopefully I keep playing aggressive and have a little fun.”

The local weather calls for clear skies, with temperatures starting in the low 40s and topping out in the upper 60s.

Round 2 TV, stream

Friday’s television coverage on the Golf Channel and streaming on the Peacock network runs from 3-6 p.m. and the first-round leaders should be prominently featured late in their rounds.

Mullinax starts at 12:01, Woodland at 12:13, the trio of Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm at 12:49 and the threesome of McIlroy, Kim and Ricky Fowler at 1:01.

Radio coverage runs from noon until 6 p.m. on SiriusXM channel 92.

Friday tee times

  • 8:15 AM John Huh, Lee Hodges, Chanmin Jung

  • 8:27 AM Chris Kirk, Sahith Theegala, Sanghun Shin

  • 8:39 AM Russell Henley, Alex Noren, Davis Riley

  • 8:51 AM Ryan Palmer, Keith Mitchell, Brian Harman

  • 9:03 AM J.J. Spaun, Harris English, Matt Kuchar

  • 9:15 AM J.T. Poston, Luke List, Tyrrell Hatton

  • 9:27 AM K.H. Lee, Seamus Power, Sebastián Muñoz

  • 9:39 AM Sepp Straka, Cam Davis, Webb Simpson

  • 9:51 AM Billy Horschel, Kevin Kisner, Collin Morikawa

  • 10:08 AM Scottie Scheffler, Sungjae Im, Cameron Young

  • 10:20 AM Max Homa, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama

  • 10:32 AM Alex Smalley, S.H. Kim, Yoseop Seo

  • 10:44 AM Kurt Kitayama, Taylor Montgomery, Bio Kim

  • 10:56 AM Aaron Wise, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Yeongsu Kim

  • 11:08 AM Brendan Steele, Emiliano Grillo, Sanghyun Park

  • 11:20 AM Scott Stallings, Wyndham Clark, Yongjun Bae

  • 11:32 AM Corey Conners, Danny Willett, Denny McCarthy

  • 11:44 AM Andrew Putnam, Troy Merritt, Adam Hadwin

  • 12:01 PM Trey Mullinax, Tom Hoge, Lucas Glover

  • 12:13 PM Chez Reavie, Brendon Todd, Gary Woodland

  • 12:25 PM Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Jason Day

  • 12:37 PM Sam Burns, Viktor Hovland, Si Woo Kim

  • 12:49 PM Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm

  • 1:01 PM Tom Kim, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler

  • 1:13 PM Tommy Fleetwood, Byeong Hun An, Maverick McNealy

  • 1:25 PM Mito Pereira, Taylor Moore, Justin Suh

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