Inman posts surprising 69 at Annandale

Sometimes things can come together in a hurry, and maybe when you least expect it.

That seems to be what happened for Web.com pro John Inman on Thursday, in the opening round of the rain-soaked True South Classic at Annandale GC.

Inman is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, which gave him good enough status as a 'past champion' to enter the field at Annandale. Played opposite the British Open, the True South serves as an opportunity for many past PGA Tour champions to play in one more big-league event. Hence, players like Inman got the chance to tee it up this week - alongside the likes of Morris Hatalsky, Willie Wood, Len Mattiace, and Ted Tryba.

Inman took a ten-year break from competitive golf before returning to the Web.com Tour last year, and the results have been rather discouraging. In 18 starts between 2011 and 2012, he has missed 18 cuts. Ted Potter's name ring a bell, anyone?

He hadn't played a PGA Tour event since 2000, so he can't have had sky-high expectations this week. And considering his Web.com driving distance of 262.5 would rank dead last if he had enough rounds to qualify, it just seems that his game was meant for an earlier era.

So all he does at Annandale is post an opening 3-under 69, parring every hole on the front nine and making four birdies on the back. Despite averaging only 251.5 yards off the tee, he made up for it by taking only 22 putts. When you don't drive the ball nearly as far as most-everyone else, you need to make up for it on the greens. Inman did that on Thursday, and he finds himself in a tie for 34th - with the opening round still finishing up due to weather delays Thursday afternoon.

Either way, Inman finds himself with a real chance to make the cut, if he can keep his putting up in the second round. The cut line will probably be 3 or 4-under when all is said and done, so he likely needs to make a few more birdies. If he can avoid major mistakes, he will have a chance.

If he can do it, it would be the first made cut of his 'return' to touring golf after the ten year hiatus. This, in his first PGA Tour start of the stint, after 18 consecutive misses on the minor-league circuit.

Go figure.