Beau Dazzles in PGA TOUR Debut

January 26, 2017

By Julia Pine

SAN DIEGO - The highly-anticipated professional debut of Beau Hossler went off without a hitch, as the two-time SCGA Amateur Champion completed his opening round at the Farmers Insurance Open Thursday afternoon. Playing on a sponsor’s exemption, Hossler blazed the recently renovated North Course for a 5-under par 67, placing him in a tie for third place at the conclusion of Round 1.

“It was a good day,” said Hossler, who sits two off the lead. “To get out of there 5 under, when you know you have to score on the North Course, it’s really nice.”

Hossler got off to a blazing hot start, collecting birdies on holes 2 and 3. The first one, which will forever go down as his first birdie as a professional golfer, was a spectacular one, with the ball finding the bottom of the hole after a 20-foot putt.

“That first one especially was a good one,” said Hossler. “And to birdie the next hole too was huge. A week ago, I would have thought if I could make it through the first four holes at even par, I’d be doing a good job. To be 2 under at that point was big.”

Hossler would collect another birdie on the par-4 6^th hole, before finishing the front nine with three straight pars. He would match his bogey-less front with a blemish-free back nine as well.

“Keeping bogeys off the card on a course like that is a big deal,” said Hossler.

The bogey-free round wasn’t without a bit of work, however, as it took two big par saves on the back nine to keep any big numbers off the score card. Working on nine straight pars, Hossler hit an errant drive on No. 16, finding himself well right of the fairway and without a clear look at the flag. After his decent second shot landed on a ridge just over the green, an impressive chip put him back in position, and a clutch seven-footer for par excited his moderately-sized gallery and swung the momentum back in Hossler’s favor.

“It’s so nice to have family and friends out here, but at the same time I try to focus on my game, keep my head down,” said Hossler. “I really hit a bad drive on 16, so to hit that nifty little chip and make that putt to save par was big.”

The positive energy stayed with Hossler the remainder of the round, as he earned birdies on both 17 and 18, the latter of which being a tough 490-yard par 4. Hossler striped his drive, putting him in position for an easy approach shot in. He would find the center of the hole with his final putt of the day, and the crowd broke out in “Let’s Go Hossler!” chants as the Mission Viejo CC member walked off the green.

“It was definitely a good start,” said Hossler. “But I have three days on a tough track coming up. I like the South Course though, I’ve won over there, but you definitely have to hit your ball well there.”

Growing up in Rancho Santa Margarita, about 70 miles north of La Jolla, Hossler is quite familiar with the Torrey Pines courses, having won here in 2011 at the Callaway Junior World.

Hossler paced a large group of homegrown talent Thursday, the majority of which joined him on the North Course. Pat Perez finished at 5 under, good enough for T8 on the leaderboard, while Idyllwild native Brendan Steele played the tougher South Course at 3 under, good enough for T19. The golfers will switch courses tomorrow, when tee times begin at 9 a.m.