Late entry Brandon Hagy opens with 64 at the American Express
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Brandon Hagy didn’t find out he was in the field at The American Express until three days before it started. The Californian then left no doubt he belonged.
Hagy took the first-round lead Thursday with an 8-under 64 on the Nicklaus course, staying one shot ahead of South Korea’s Byeong Hun An in the opening tournament of the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing.
Hagy racked up 10 birdies, including three streaks of three in a row. He capped the round with a calm birdie putt on the 18th.
“I felt like I saw the greens really well, and the last couple of days, I felt like I was putting really well,” Hagy said. “Once I started to read them well, I knew if I could just keep doing what I was doing, I’d have a good shot to do something.”
Indiana shuts down No. 4 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Perhaps, coach Fran McCaffery said, his Iowa team got too comfortable.
The fourth-ranked Hawkeyes came into Thursday night’s game against Indiana on a five-game winning streak and tied for the Big Ten lead.
But the Hoosiers’ defense shut them down in an 81-69 comeback win.
It’s a lesson McCaffery hopes his team learned.
“I think we have to understand a little bit better what this league is and the quality of the teams that are coming in here and that we’re going to face on the road,” McCaffery said. “I thought up until now we did a pretty good job of that.”