The PGA Tour is south of the border this week for the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Here’s how things look after the opening round, where Patton Kizzire has opened up a two-shot lead in search of his first career win:
Leaderboard: Patton Kizzire (-9), Vaughn Taylor (-7), Rickie Fowler (-6), Brandon Harkins (-6), Retief Goosen (-5), Fabian Gomez (-5)
What it means: Kizzire was out among the early wave and quickly moved to the top of the standings with a round that included 10 birdies and briefly flirted with 59. A former standout at Auburn, he didn’t crack the top 25 for the first six months this year, but he has top-10 finishes each of the last two weeks. Fowler headlines the chase pack, while the group at 5 under includes a mix of veterans and recent Web.com Tour grads.
Round of the day: Kizzire parred each of his first two holes before the birdies started to drop, as he made eight over his next 11 holes including six in a row from Nos. 8-13. He would have broken 60 with a hole-out eagle on No. 18, but even after a closing bogey his opening 62 tied the tournament record for lowest opening score also held by Fred Funk, who went on to win this event in 2007.
Best of the rest: Taylor has been relatively quiet since his surprise victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am nearly two years ago, but he’s in the mix after opening with a 7-under 64. The veteran eagled the par-5 13th and failed to drop a shot, circling five birdies including three over his final four holes to grab sole possession of second place.
Biggest disappointment: Patrick Reed is one of the biggest names in the field this week, but he finds himself on the wrong side of the projected cut line after opening with a 1-over 72. Reed made only one birdie all day, that coming on the 12th hole of his round, and he trails by 10 shots after failing to capitalize on conditions where more than half the field broke par.
Main storyline heading into Friday: Keep an eye on Fowler, who showed little if any rust while making his first competitive start since the Presidents Cup. Fowler hasn’t seen El Camaleon before this week, but he put together a bogey-free 65 in the opening round and will likely remain in the mix for the title this weekend.
Shot of the day: Keith Mitchell began the tournament in style, holing a 6-iron from 200 yards for an ace on No. 10 with his very first shot of the day. The hole-in-one helped the rookie to an opening-round 66 as he looks to make his first cut as a Tour member.
Source: Internet
