PONTE VEDORA, Fla. — Few people have had an emotional day at the athletes championships than Danny Walker on Thursday.
He received an early morning call from the PGA Tour and told him he was on the field as the first replacement when Jason's Day retreated due to illness.
Walker, 29, who first won a PGA Tour card through a 28th place finish on last year's Corn Ferry Tour, has lived in nearby Jacksonville for more than five years.
“It meant the world to me,” he said after filming 73, who was aged 1 and over, while paired with former US open winners Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark. “I had never met either before, so that was something too. I wanted to play at this event when I was a young man, especially since I lived in my hometown. I've seen it so many times over the last few years, so I couldn't be more excited.”
Walker, who was already on the course when he was called in case someone retreated, said he was so excited that he had to take a walk in the player's parking lot to compose himself.
“I went and sat in the car for a few minutes and hit me a bit, so I might cry,” he said. “At that moment, I tried to look back at who I was when I was a kid. I just wanted to play at this event all the time, and I actually played. I tried to get emotional early so I was able to relax and play.”
It wasn't long ago that Walker was thinking about whether he should continue playing because he was struggling so much.
In late 2021 he was moonlit as a server at his local restaurant, Bahamas Breeze, to make money.
“All the initial cheers were just for Wyndham or Jordan, and finally, I began to listen more for myself,” Walker said. “It's like someone who understood who I was to the end.”
Spieth offered the classic Jordanspee experience in Thursday's opening round.
Spiece, which has not had a stable reputation on the golf course, had a roller coaster round on his way to the 2-under par 70.
His first nine holes were played back nine in the start at No. 10 and featured two pars along with two Eagles, two birdies, two bogeys and double bogeys.
He settled down a few on the final nine holes along with one birdie and one bogey, but ironically he was better at two shots on the rocky front nine.
Spieth said he prefers his round to be “boring” than anything with “volatility” like his first nine Thursdays.
“I had a lot of tournaments and I was bored towards the end, but there were also a lot of places where there was volatility,” he said. “If you make 16 pars and two birdies, then you're like, 'Oh, what do you need to do to make more birdies?”
Alejandro Tosti, who is competing in his first athletes championship, was a star a few days before the tournament began.
Argentine long-time batsman Tosti celebrated with a hole-in-one on the green-green par-3 17th hole on the island's famous practice round on Wednesday, launching himself into the lake surrounding the hole.
“This was my first hole-in-one,” Tosty told the Post on Thursday after his 2-under 70 opening round. “I wish it had it on the tournament day, but getting a hole-in-one in that hole was amazing. I'm so excited to put it on camera so I can show my kids and grandchildren.”
Tosty said his leap into water was planned.
“Two hours before that happened, I had an interview while I was on par 3, number 8… and they were asking about the 17th and I said, “If I make a hole-in-one in hall 17, I'll jump into the water,” he said. “When I made it, I was going to jump in, but I didn't know how deep it was, and then I stopped and my friend pushed me in. Honestly, the water was a little chilly.”
