Kevin Streelman takes two-stroke lead at Sanderson Farms Championship

By Kevin Casey

GOLFWEEK.COM

Kevin Streelman (Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports)

Kevin Streelman hadn’t shot a US PGA Tour round lower than 65 in over two years. But that changed Thursday.
Three early birdies started the fire and Streelman kept it burning, as the 37-year-old made seven more on his way to an opening 9-under 63 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. That earned him an early two-shot lead in Jackson, Mississippi.
While birdies predictably were not tough to find in Thursday’s first round, Streelman caught them the most. The American, starting on No. 10 at the Country Club of Jackson, birdied 11, 12 and 13 to quickly reach 3 under. He followed with birdies at 15 and 17 to reach 5 under and dispatched three more from Nos. 1-3 to move out to 8 under with six holes to go.
A bogey at the par-3 fourth stalled his momentum, but birdies at Nos. 6 and 9 sealed a low first 18 holes – and his best round since a third-round 63 in a runner-up performance at the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
The 9-under total bested all by two, with Trey Mullinax, Seamus Power and Carl Pettersson sitting in a tie for second at 7 under. Lucas Glover and Graham DeLaet lead a contingent in a tie for fifth at 6 under.
Streelman’s strong start was not expected based on recent form. The American opened his 2016-17 US PGA Tour season with a missed cut at the Safeway Open and has overall failed to make the weekend in four of his last seven Tour starts. He also missed the cut at Sanderson Farms last year, his only previous start in this event.
Fifty-four holes remain, but Streelman is searching for his third US PGA Tour win.
In total, 83 players broke par for the day. One of them was defending champion Peter Malnati, who sits in a tie for 69th after opening in 1-under 71.