Ryan Palmer

The Texan snapped out of a slump last week at Quail Hollow Club and built on that momentum today. "I got within the top 10 at one moment, and I haven't been there in a long time. That's all it takes is little things like that. I ended up finishing 35th, but I took more away from that event just by being in certain positions." Palmer split 9-of-14 fairways today while also pelting 14 GIR. It was a steady day from tee-to-green and he also managed to gain 1.2 strokes putting. Palmer's confidence tank is filling fast which is needed as he's just 186th in the FedExCup standings.

The Texan arrived on the heels of four straight missed cuts but flipped the script today. He pelted 14 GIR (T8) after splitting six of 14 fairways (T103). His putter certainly contributed to the low score with four of his six birdies converted from outside of 13 feet. On top of his poor form, Palmer also arrived with a trio of missed cuts on his course resume, making this his first trip to Quail Hollow since the 2007 edition. This low round came from off the radar so gamers should watch closely to see how he fares over the final 54 holes. 

The Texan split 8-of-13 fairways and landed 11 greens in regulation. His ball-striking stats were slightly better than field average but his short game is really where he excelled. Palmer splashed home six putts from outside of eight feet including a trio from outside of 11 feet. The Texas A&M alum talked about how he's enjoying the conditions this week, "I grew up in rural Texas, flat, a lot of wind, so I learned to hit a lot of creative shots, low shots. I love coming over here. Love playing this golf course. Great week last year. I just love this golf because there's so many shots you can hit. You have to really be creative." Palmer posted a top 5 here last year in his course debut and he's right back in the hunt with a chance to contend tomorrow.

The 45-year-old, who kicked off with 67 and day-low, bogey-free 62 to co-lead with two others, follows with 70-66 for his first top 10 of the season in 14 events and first since T7 at last season's team Zurich with Jon Rahm as defenders. That was 23 starts ago, while his most recent individual top 10 came 30 starts ago (T2, 2021 Farmers), and now heads to this coming week's PGA Championship in Tulsa, where he's set to make his 36th major appearance. The Texan, who drops to 2-for-10 as a 36-hole leader/co-leader, zero for his last eight, has missed 17 cuts in majors, four straight and five of his last six, conjuring just two top 10s, including a best of T5 at the 2014 PGA at Valhalla in KY. The good news, he records his fourth top 10 at the Nelson in 18 visits, first since T10 in 2015 (TPC Four Seasons), tallied two eagles and 26 birdies against five bogeys and a double, and was positive in all strokes gained metrics this week, including 9th SG: Putting (4.428), 3.259 of that in R4, and 13th SG: Tee-to-Green (6.707), despite a -0.949 TTG on Sunday.