Bayou deluge

It was a dark and stormy day in Louisiana, but we did manage to get in some golf before nightfall. The team of Trey Mullinax and Scott Stallings led after shooting 61 in the four-ball format. The Web.com and LPGA also saw rains of birdies on Thursday, and the European Tour went viral—again.

Lou-Easy-Ana

A long rain delay brought the proceedings to a halt at TPC Louisiana on Thursday. Scott Stallings and Trey Mullinax finished with a flash of birdies before dark, shooting 61 in the four-ball round. Mullinax contributed seven birdies, four of them over the final nine holes. Last year at this event, Stallings missed the cut and Mullinax got to only -10 with his partner Jonathan Randolph. The pair currently holds a one-shot lead, but many teams have yet to finish their first rounds. Zurich Classic Leaderboard

Other Notes

• The superteam of Brian Gay and Rory Sabbatini sit one shot back with four holes to play. Sabbatini has been in the mix on a lot of Thursdays this season, but we’ll see if the Boy from Bratislava put together a strong weekend. Nick Taylor and Martin Laird are also currently tied for second.
• Joel Dahmen and Brandon Harkins got off to a fast start, but the rain slowed their barrage of birdies. They were six-under through their first nine before making just three birdies combined after the storm. Ultimately they settled for a 63.
• Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown have been in the mix in each of the last two Zurich Classics, and they figure to be there again this year. They currently stand at -8 but have five holes to play.
• Half of the field will complete the first round on Friday, so get ready for some marathon days of golf this weekend.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

On the Web.com Tour, Brian Richey and Xinjun Zhang share the lead after the first round of the Dormie Network Classic. Each shot a round of 63 on Thursday; Richey went bogey free, and Zhang racked up 11 birdies. Harry Higgs, Justin Lower, Steve Marino, and Charlie Saxon all shot 65 and are tied for fourth. Dormie Classic Leaderboard

Campus Roundup with Will Knights

The PAC 12 Championship wrapped up with a windy final round at Eugene Country Club. The Stanford Cardinal started four shots back on Wednesday but fired the low round of the day and earned a seven-shot victory over UCLA. Isaiah Salinda led the charge for Stanford while three of his teammates finished in the top 10. Cal’s Collin Morikawa won individual honors by four shots after posting with a final-round 70. Morikawa maintained a 68.3 scoring average on the year, won twice, and never placed lower than seventh all season.

Other Conference Champions

The SEC Championship is in the midst of stroke play with Georgia leading the way. The match play portion will be fought out this weekend at Sea Island.

Southern Illinois completed a comeback to defeat Illinois State for the MVC Championship.

North Florida led wire-to-wire to win the ASUN Championship.

Jacksonville State won the OVC Championship by 11 shots over Belmont.

Quick Hooks

England’s Jordan Smith holds a one-shot lead at the Trophee Hassan II on the European Tour. Smith opened with 66 as he attempts to win his first Euro Tour event since 2017. Leaderboard

Stacy Lewis and Hannah Green are tied atop the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open after first-round 65s. Minjee Lee (third), Brooke Henderson (T-5), and Lizette Salas (T-5) are also in the hunt at Wilshire Country Club. Leaderboard

The Champions Tour gets underway on Friday with the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge (yes, that’s really the name). Tee Times

Tiger announced that he will tee it up at the first PGA Tour event ever to be hosted in Japan. The ZOZO Championship will be held in October 2019 near Tokyo at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. Full Story from Golf Channel

This was a bad look for the golfers involved.

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