US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson made six straight birdies amid a 10-under-par 62 and is tied for the lead with Sweden’s Alex Noren after one spherical of The American Express event in California.
Johnson and Noren every performed their first rounds at La Quinta Country Club, one of three programs used for this week’s event. Players may even play a spherical at PGA West’s Pete Dye Stadium Course and Nicklaus Tournament Course earlier than a 54-hole lower. The Stadium Course will host Sunday’s remaining spherical.
Johnson, 47, and Noren, 41, have a one-stroke lead on Rico Hoey of the Philippines (63, Nicklaus) and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout (63, La Quinta).
Not far behind at eight-under 64 are the likes of Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and 2021 American Express champ Si Woo Kim of South Korea. All three additionally performed La Quinta on Thursday.
Johnson has not received since capturing the 2015 Open Championship, whereas Noren has received 10 titles in Europe however none on US soil.
Zach Johnson after ending with a par on the 18th of his in any other case birdie-filled opening spherical
Johnson stayed bogey-free and outplayed some of his Ryder Cup group members like Schauffele, Cantlay and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler (five-under 67 at La Quinta).
“They kind of keep me young to some degree. Motivated,” Johnson stated. “Just watching them is, to say it’s impressive would be an understatement.”
Johnson, who will play the Nicklaus Course on Friday, stated his mindset is to remain the place his ft are.
“It’s nice to work again. I haven’t been able to put this much work in a little over a year’s time, so I’m excited,” he stated.
Noren had an eagle on the par-five thirteenth offset by a double bogey 4 holes later. He added 10 birdies to that pile, together with 5 of his remaining six holes as he completed on the entrance 9.
“It helped being seven under, you know, and then making a double to go to five, which is not usually the case,” Noren stated. “Being five under, you just have to look at it like a little bit longer perspective. If somebody said you were five under after eight, I would have taken it. Just try to stay positive.”
Alex Noren had an eagle on the thirteenth en-route to ending in a tie for the lead
Schauffele’s spotlight was a chip-in for eagle on the par-five eleventh, however he knew that this event was a breeding floor for low scores.
“I imagine someone’s going to shoot lower than eight under. That’s just kind of what guys do out here,” he stated. “Once one of us shoots something low, the next wave of guys will do even better. That’s what I expect.”
Justin Thomas, making his season debut, shot a seven-under 65 at La Quinta, that includes a six-birdie run at holes 4 to 9.
Daniel Berger shot a four-under 68 on the Stadium Course in his first spherical on tour because the 2022 US Open. Berger is making his return this week after recovering from a again harm.
“I only played 10 rounds in the last six months, so I’m very in the beginning stages of playing,” Berger stated. “But, yeah, I practised at home and I was playing well. Obviously, this is great place to start. The conditions are favorable, and the wind is not up, and the greens are pure. So, I figured if there was any place to start a season, this was it.”
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