Ricardo Gonzalez watches his tee shot on the second hole during the first round of the James Hardy Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational Friday, March 6, 2026, at the Broken Sound Club Old Course in Boca Raton, Florida. Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez opened the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational with an eagle and holds a one-shot lead after the first round of the event Friday in Boca Raton, Florida.
Gonzalez shot a 6-under 66 at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club. Stewart Cink was one shot behind and George McNeill and Australian Steve Allan were tied for third at 4 under.
Another Australian, Greg Chalmers, finished fifth with Ben Crane and Shane Bertsch with a 3-under 69. Eleven players tied for 8th place with scores of 70.
Gonzalez started the round at the par-5 10th hole. He reached the green in two and made the putt to get off to a perfect start. Gonzalez made five birdies before finally recording his only bogey of the day on the par-3 eighth hole.
“It feels good because I think it’s my first time getting to the top of the leaderboard and I’m so glad I did that,” said Gonzalez, whose only win came at the 2024 PGA Tour Champions in Morocco. “And I think it’s one of the best days in golf, especially today because it’s so windy on this golf course.
“The course is narrow, there are a lot of bunkers and you have to keep the ball in the fairway. It’s very windy, especially on some holes with crosswinds, so it’s difficult to play. And I had a really good tee shot all day today (it got a lot easier) so I got a good score.”
Cink’s steady round saw him make three birdies on each of the nine holes, surrounding his lone bogey on the par-4 ninth. Cink, a former Open Championship winner, has five senior appearances, including the Charles Schwab Cup Championship last fall and the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January.
“This is my first time playing this course. I’ve played it every day this week and the wind was the same and the wind direction was the same,” Cink said. “There’s been very little change, so we’re used to playing this course with this kind of wind direction. Now, if it flips over and blows in a (different) direction, it’s going to be a completely different course. But for now, we’re kind of getting a feel for these tee shots and some of the approaches.
“For the most part, our game plan was good and I hit a lot of solid shots, made birdie looks, and got my share of the shots. I probably could have made a few more, but overall it was a pretty satisfying day.”
–Field level media
