Birdie bonanza carries Coody to PGA Tour lead in Kentucky

WASHINGTON: US PGA Tour rookie Pierceson Coody fired a career-low 11-under par 61 on Thursday to grab a three-shot lead in the fist round of the ISCO Championship in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

The 24-year-old American ranked 175th in the world needed just 20 putts, reeling off 11 birdies -- including six in a row from the fifth through the 10th -- at Keen Trace Golf Club. He had a three-shot lead over Rico Hoey of the Philippines and American Hayden Springer.

Hoey´s 64 included six birdies and an eagle from off the green at the par-five eighth - his penultimate hole. Springer, who shot a sensational 12-under par 59 in the first round of the John Deere Classic last week, rattled in a 20-foot birdie putt at 18 to join him on eight-under -- his ninth birdie of the day with just one bogey.

Nine players shared fourth on seven-under 65. “I´ve been putting really nice all season,” said Coody, whose 61 was three strokes better than his previous tour low, a 64 on Sunday at the John Deere Classic.

“It´s kind of a core set, if you keep it in play, keep it in front of you, you have a lot of wedges, you end up with a lot of looks for birdie and it´s just one of those days that I saw a ton of putts go in.”

His six-birdie burst was a first for him. It started with a 14-foot birdie at the fifth. He followed that with a 19-footer at the sixth and a two-putt birdie from the fringe at the eighth. He said his hole out from a greenside bunker at the ninth “was probably the best of the birdies.