Overton off to strong start to new U.S. PGA Tour season

SAN MARTIN, California (AP) ― Coming off his worst year, Jeff Overton opened the new U.S. PGA Tour season on a good note.

Once he finally made a putt in the Frys.com Open on Thursday, Overton felt as if he couldn’t miss. Over the last 11 holes at CordeValle, he made three birdie putts over 25 feet and a 20-foot eagle putt when his gamble paid off on the par-5 ninth.

He finished with a tap-in birdie on the 18th for a 7-under 64 and a two-shot lead over the early starters.

“It would be great if we can continue this thing and keep it rolling,” Overton said.

Kyle Stanley had a 66. Michael Putnam, who won the Web.com Tour money title last season to earn full status, was among those at 67. John Peterson was challenging for the lead until finishing with two bogeys for a 68.

The tour is starting in October instead of January for the first time.

Overton, who remains the only American to play in the Ryder Cup without ever having won on the tour, had a year in which just about everything went wrong. He didn’t play in any of the majors for the first time since 2007. He was disqualified from Colonial when he thought he could use a training aid to practice putting when there was a delay at the turn. He opened with a 69 in the John Deere Classic and had to withdraw when he felt shooting pain in his right wrist.

And he was the alternate who didn’t get in the U.S. PGA Championship, leading to a series of angry tweets toward the PGA of America for not giving him an exemption to a guy who played in the Ryder Cup at Wales three years earlier.

Overton said only that “everything is all good” when asked about his relationship with the PGA of America.

He hopes the same can be said about his game this year, especially after spending the last few months moving to a stronger grip to alleviate recurring pain in his left wrist. It worked beautifully on a sunny day in the foothills south of San Jose, especially the baby cut he hit into 20 inches on the 18th.

Overton hit the ball so well on the first six holes that he had only one birdie attempt longer than 15 feet and missed everything. But he made the par putt on the seventh, and seeing the ball go into the hole was all it took to send him on his way.

“Next I knew, I made everything,” he said. “I saw the ball go in the hole one time, and was just chipping and putting it in ― just everything. It was just one of those days that went my way at the end.”

He had a gamble pay off, hitting 3-wood into the breeze from 244 yards to a green guarded by water. He aimed right and caught it perfectly with a draw, and the ball settled 20 feet away to set up eagle.