Tour pro sweeps the square with two eagle holes in wild shape

David Ford’s final score on Thursday at 2026 Cognizant ClassicThe 72-year-old was not surprising, although perhaps a little taller than he would have liked. His scoreboard from Day 1 at PGA National, however, tells a very different story.

That’s because Ford’s score hides the fact that in the opening round he made eight pars, four bogeys, three birdies, two eagle-outs and an ugly quadruple-bogey.

Here’s what exactly happened at one of the wildest rounds of the year, as well as the highlights of Ford’s rollercoaster day at PGA National.

David Ford shoots 72 in the most improbable way at the Cognizant Classic

Ford is a 23-year-old fresh out of college and just starting his professional golf career. He made 13 PGA Tour starts last season, making four cuts, including a T3 finish at the Bank of Utah Championship in October.

Most notably, Ford finished first in the 2025 PGA Tour University Rankings while playing at the University of North Carolina. This earned him his PGA Tour card for 2026.

In three starts before this week’s Cognizant Classic, Ford has fared well, making two of three cuts and earning a T13 at American Express. won by Scottie Scheffler.

But even though his PGA Tour career is just getting started, he may never again experience a round like the one he had Thursday at PGA National.

Ford began his day on the back nine of the champion course at 1:35 pm ET on Thursday, and quickly birdied the 10th to start with red numbers.

When he birdied a second at 12 to move to two over, things started to look up for the young pro. But just five holes later Ford was five under after dropping seven shots.

His first boyfriend came at the age of 13, but it was The infamous Bear Trap – the difficult stretch from 15-17 – that really got the best of Ford.

He stayed dry at 15, but still bogeyed. At 16, he hit his tee into the water and made another bogey.

But the real disaster hit the par-3 17th with water. Ford’s first tee shot ended up just short of the water and right of the green. With his ball just dipped, he decided to try to hit it from there instead of taking a penalty.

Ford bounced down on his second shot, sending the ball halfway up the steep bank in front of him before falling back into the water. He decided to try hitting the same shot with his third and he got the same result.

At that point, Ford made the wise choice to take a penalty and hit his fifth from the drop zone.

Two shots later and he had a 7-four-bogey, dropping to five over the round.

But roller coaster David Ford was about to make a dramatic climb to the rails.

At 18, Ford made birdie to finish his front nine in four. After a par on 1, Ford hit his drive on the par-4 2nd fairway, then holed out from 144 yards for eagle.

Suddenly his score had improved to two over. But Ford was far from done. He layed up with his second shot on the par-5 third, leaving 90 feet for his third shot. Incredibly, Ford dropped that wedge as well for a second straight eagle hole.

And just like that, in a matter of four holes, Ford had erased his four-over and improved from four over to even par.

The rest of his round was much less volatile, with Ford making five pars and a bogey. to close out his 72.

This left him in the middle of the pack on the leaderboard, just off the projected line going into Round 2. Despite the mess he made in his first eight holes, Ford has a fighting chance to make the cut at PGA National.

You can watch video highlights of Ford’s wild opening round at the Cognizant Classic above.