Day 43: AUS PGA Rd. 1: ‘Boo-tiful Start to this Aussie Weekley Golf-about!’

Boo Weekley is playing in his third tournament Down Under and fired a 6-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead in the rain-shortened first round of the 2014 Australian PGA Championship. Half of the 156-player field, everyone in the morning wave, finished their round. Queenslander and World No. 3 Adam Scott, along with five other early risers, posted 4-under 68s. Three weeks ago Boo placed T15, five strokes back of Australian Masters Champion Nick Cullen down in Melbourne at the Metropolitan Golf Club. Two weeks ago he finished T15, fifteen strokes behind fellow American and Australian Open Champion Jordan Spieth who ran away from the field with a Sunday 63 to win by six strokes at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. Everyone in the afternoon pairings played at least six holes with Jin Jeong (4-under through 12 holes) and Tom Bond (4-under through 9 holes) leading the pack. With Queensland not on daylight savings, the sun will rise at 4:43 am and play will resume at 5:30 am. The sun will set at 6:35 pm with the long days of summer in effect Down Under. Boo holed a 146-yard 8-iron on the 379-meter par-4 17th hole, his eighth of the day, for an eagle 2 to go along with five birdies and a lone bogey on the 13th hole. After taking a week off to see the sights in Australia with his good mate and Round 1 & 2 playing partner Steven Bowditch (shot 75), Boo came back to the golf course with his usual happy-go-lucky attitude. "Every day I might not have my best game," Boo pointed out in his post-round interview, "but at least every day I'm thankful that I'm able to play this game and play at the level I play it." And it looks like his game is following his positive attitude: "It felt like it all came together today. Like I said, the first week I didn't make no putts, hit it pretty solid, just didn't make no putts and the next week made some putts but to me didn't hit my irons as well, you know what I mean? So now today it was kind of like they both came together. I made the putts and hit the irons pretty good." "If I win (I win, if I don't, I don't but my goal was to come over here and every event I played in was to just to top 20. I’m going to head back (home to Florida on) Monday. I got a hunting trip lined up as soon as I get back home, so it's kind of cutting in on my hunting back home." Boo's relaxed demeanor and seemingly in-the-moment focus is reminiscent of when he won back-to-back Heritages at Hilton Head in 2007 and 2008 and then helped the United States Ryder Cup team ride (on his driver off the first tee) to victory at Valhalla later in 2008. His most recent win was in May 2013 at Colonial CC in Fort Worth, Texas.  His wide-eyed first visit Down Under and a victory this week in the Australian PGA Championship  would duplicate what Spieth accomplished in this golfing country's national Open. Let's hope the weather cooperates and the golf-about continues and concludes on Sunday so Boo can go home and start hunting on Monday! http://www.andygolftraveldiary.com/day-41-dinner-with-the-…/ Arrived on the Gold Coast for the Australian PGA Championship at the RACV Royal Pines Resort... dinner with the stars tonight...   (Facebook Post 1 Pic, Andy Reistetter, 12/9/14) Everyone going PURPLE for pancreatic cancer today at the Australian PGA Championship for the Avner Nahmani Pancreatic Cancer Foundation... inspirational comments by Avner's widow Caroline at Tuesday night's PGA Dinner (with MC Richard Champion)... with my best mates Kathie & Martin... heading out to watch the golf... Graham Marsh's redesign of the front nine has been a big hit here at RACV Royal Pines Resort! Has been a whirlwind week since I left Sydney here on the Sunshine & Gold Coasts! http://www.andygolftraveldiary.com/journey-to-australia/   (Facebook Post 2 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 12/11/14) Australian PGA Championship underway at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast...   (Facebook Link, Andy Reistetter, 12/11/14)