FORT WORTH — Harry Hall had a dream start Thursday at Colonial.
The PGA Tour rookie from England needed only 22 putts, the last one an 8-foot birdie for an 8-under 62 that gave him a three-shot lead over Harris English after the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge
Hall changed up his routine this week by playing 36 holes of practice at Colonial — a Monday pro-am then nine holes Tuesday and Wednesday. That helped, so did his putter. Along with his eight birdies, he made par putts of 15 and 30 feet.
“Maybe that’s the key, just to see a bit more of the course than I have done in the past,” Hall said. “I didn’t do too much different. I kind of just made things a little bit more simple.”
He missed seven greens and played those holes in 1 under, the biggest a chip-in for birdie from about 80 feet on the 12th hole.
“I was really in the moment out there and determined to play some good golf,” Hall said. “The scrambling doesn’t really surprise me because that’s the best part of my game, but the way I hit the ball the first two-thirds of that round was pretty special.”
Tom Hoge, who played his college golf at TCU and now makes Fort Worth his home, holed out for eagle from the seventh fairway on his way to a 66.
Scottie Scheffler, who returned to No. 1 in the world with his tie for second at the PGA Championship last week, and defending champion Sam Burns were in the large group at 67. Jordan Spieth didn’t make his lone birdie until the eighth hole and opened with a 72.
Hoge’s approach on No. 6 settled inches away from the cup, and his 8-iron from the fairway in the par-4 seventh flew straight into the cup for an eagle.
It was just the start he needed after missing the cut at Colonial the last three times.
“The last few years, I really struggled on Thursday then kind of fought back on Friday to try to make the cut,” Hoge said. “It was certainly a focus this year to try to get off to a good start, try to be a little more patient and let the round come to me. Making a few birdies off the bat was really nice.”
Michael Block has been on quite a ride the last six days. He made the cut at the PGA Championship, playing with Justin Rose in the third round and Rory McIlroy in the final round. The 46-year-club head pro at Trabuco Arroyo in Mission Hills, Calif., finished 15th last week by turning in a performance as memorable as Brooks Koepka winning his fifth major.
He came crashing back to earth after a week so busy he saw Colonial only one time before Thursday.
Block, who received a sponsor’s exemption this week, opened with three straight bogeys and finished with three double bogeys over his last four holes of an 11-over 81 that left him in last place and 19 shots behind Hall.
“If you are a golfer, you’ve had the day I’ve had,” Block said. “You understand the facts of where the lies aren’t good and the trees are in your way every time. Even your good shots are bad, and your bad shots are worse.
“It is what it is. I’m going to live with it. I thought it was going to happen that third or fourth round last week at Oak Hill, and it never happened. It happened now, and I wasn’t surprised by it, to tell you the truth.”
He wasn’t giving up just yet, though.
“I’m looking forward to coming out tomorrow and playing a great round and giving it everything I have,” he said. “I’ve shot 58, and I’ve shot a 59 in my life, and since what I had today, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did it. So if I do, cool. If not, I’ll be seeing my kids and my wife tomorrow night in Orange County, California. It’s all good one way or the other.”
