Wyndham Championship 2018: Brandt Snedeker's Brilliance Puts Him in Round 1 Lead

Brandt Snedeker carded the 10th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history Thursday with an 11-under 59 in the first round of the 2018 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Snedeker, who started his day with a bogey on the 10th hole, tallied an eagle and 10 birdies over the final 17 holes to give himself a four-shot lead after the opening round. He capped the memorable performance with a 20-foot birdie putt at the ninth:

Ryan Moore and John Oda (seven under) are tied for second after Round 1, while seven players are level in third place at six under during the final tournament before the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Snedeker's previous career-best round was 61 and, while he admitted afterward he "didn't see 59 coming today," the 37-year-old did explain he "kind of found something late yesterday on the golf course" that translated into Thursday's success.

"It's very rare out here when you have something you're trying to do and you step up with this pressure and all the stuff on you and you do it," he told reporters. "You hit the shots you're supposed to hit and you make the putts you're supposed to do. If you don't get excited for that, then you need to find another job."

It's the first sub-60 round on the PGA Tour since Adam Hadwin at the 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge last January.

The score extended a run of strong form for Snedeker, who's now posted a 70 or better in eight of his past nine rounds dating back to RBC Canadian Open in late July. He'll look to parlay the hot streak into his first victory since the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open.

Here's a look at the official 59 scorecard:

Elsewhere, Moore also produced a promising start as he seeks his first top-10 finish since the Valero Texas Open in mid-April. He cruised through the bogey-free round with seven birdies, which probably makes the four-shot deficit a little disappointing, though it's still early.

Oda is making just his seventh start of the season as he attempts to earn full-time status. He's played well when active, including a third-place showing in the Barracuda Championship earlier this month, and his seven-under 63 on Thursday is the latest example of his upside.

Sean Martin of PGA Tour HQ provided further details about how much this week means to the 22-year-old former UNLV standout:

Now the question is what Snedeker will do for an encore. Justin Thomas is the last player to shoot a 59 in the opening round of an event, which he accomplished at the 2017 Sony Open. He shot a 64 in the second round and went on to win the tournament by seven strokes.