{"id":54658,"date":"2026-04-24T01:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/54658\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T01:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:36:09","slug":"2026-zurich-classic-alex-smalley-hayden-springer-lead-after-58","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/54658\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Zurich Classic: Alex Smalley, Hayden Springer lead after 58"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 23, 2026, 8:18 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer tied a tournament record with a 14-under 58 in the first round of the Zurich Classic.Multiple teams posted low scores in the four-ball format, including a 59 and several 60s.Players anticipate a much tougher challenge in Friday’s alternate-shot format, where scores are typically higher.<\/p>\n

AVONDALE, La. \u2014 The first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans<\/a> turned into exactly what players expected, and exactly what the format invites.<\/p>\n

With warm temperatures and bright sunshine in the morning, TPC Louisiana was there for the taking. By the time the afternoon wave wrapped, a steady, swirling breeze blew into the area, adding just enough uncertainty to keep things interesting, but not enough difficulty to slow the scoring pace.<\/p>\n

As evening descended in the bayou, Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer topped the leaderboard with a tournament record-tying 14-under 58. The duo made par on Nos. 4, 6, 12 and 14, and either eagled or birdied every other hole on the course, including a birdie run on 15, 16, 17 and 18 to end their day.<\/p>\n

\"Sunshine<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, four to finish, can\u2019t complain,\u201d Springer said. \u201cKind of got the putter going there. Then nice to finish off on 18, to get that one, take care of the par-5, especially in this format.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

The blazing end to the round came after a start that was just as hot.<\/p>\n

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe both hit good tee shots on one and both had, I don\u2019t know, 15 feet or so (for birdie),\u201d Smalley said. \u201cI just happened to make mine first.\u201d<\/p>\n

That early momentum allowed the team to settle into a rhythm that people in New Orleans associate with Jazz Fest, which started Thursday here in the Crescent City.<\/p>\n

Behind them, Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat rode a mid-round surge to a 13-under 59, while Sam Stevens and Zach Bauchou and the team of Eric Cole and Hank Lebioda both posted 12-under 60 to stay close heading into Friday\u2019s alternate-shot format.<\/p>\n

After that 58, 59 and three of 60s, seven teams posted 61, three shot 62 and 14 teams carded 63.<\/p>\n

\"Hayden<\/p>\n

For Thompson and Eckroat, the round was less about steady, shared momentum.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like we kind of eased our way into the round,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThen we just rode the momentum and made a bunch of birdies and also made a nice eagle on seven.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

That same theme played out across the leaderboard, where the four-ball format allowed teams to stay aggressive knowing there was always a second chance.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a format where you can play really freely,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cWe have two looks at it on every hole, and that kind of keeps that freedom going.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

Few rounds illustrated that better than Stevens and Bauchou’s. Bauchou holed three shots from off the green, including a 40-footer, as the longtime friends leaned on chemistry and confidence to post one of the day\u2019s most memorable scorecards.<\/p>\n

In the afternoon, Cole and Lebioda took advantage of similar scoring opportunities, though with slightly trickier conditions as the wind began to swirl.<\/p>\n

Their 60 included a late stretch where momentum flipped quickly, highlighted by long putts and a chip-in that helped them climb into a tie for third.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know you\u2019ve got to take advantage of the best-ball day,\u201d Eckroat said. \u201cTomorrow you never know. It\u2019s a lot harder to make birdies in alternate shot.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That shift looms large heading into Friday, when the alternate-shot format will demand precision, patience and trust in a partner in a very different way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare for a 66 to be disappointing, but Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka quietly signed their scorecards and left the media area without saying much to anyone. They played with the Fitzpatrick brothers, Matt and Alex, who got things rolling and reached 9 under before making a disappointing bogey on the par-5 18th hole that dropped them to an 8-under 64.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Still, they know that with Friday\u2019s foursomes ahead, things can change in a hurry.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to play both of them,\u201d Matt Fitzpatrick said. \u201cYou could easily go out and shoot 8-under in foursomes tomorrow, and that all of a it \u00a0like 14 under today. I think the biggest thing is getting those two rounds under your belt, seeing where you lie, and kicking on from there. Foursomes is obviously much harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, though, the message from Day 1 was clear: With ideal conditions and a format built for aggression, the Zurich Classic can turn into a sprint\u2014and the teams that took advantage early have given themselves a head start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 23, 2026, 8:18 p.m. ET Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer tied a tournament record with a 14-under…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54659,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[6],"tags":[2312,29107,29108,683,686,688,698,681,51],"class_list":["post-54658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-zurich","tag-accessfree","tag-sstssportsgolfpga","tag-sstsnpga-tour","tag-taggolf","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagstory-highlights-ai-enabled","tag-typestory","tag-zurich"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116457123583784562","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}