Wesley Bryan shot a nine-under 63 to grab a three stroke lead after the first round of the Puntacana Championship on Thursday.
Bryan, who made eagle with a chip-in on the par-five 4th hole, bounced back from a bogey on the 14th to birdie his last two holes and leave himself alone at the top of the leaderboard.
The tournament at the Corales course in the Dominican Republic is being held opposite the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head which was Bryan’s sole win on the PGA Tour in 2017.
“It was a great time,” said Bryan. “Got off to a good start, which was nice, but I’ve been hitting it nice leading up to this week. It’s fun to actually go out there and make some birdies and had a couple chip-ins.”
Four-time PGA Tour winner Charlie Hoffman was one of five players, three shots back of Bryan, after posting six-under rounds of 66.
The 47-year-old finished his bogey-free round in style with birdies on each of his last three holes.
“It’s very generous off the tee, so I would say it’s a second shot golf course,” he said. “Got to be in the right position, judge the wind right and then obviously need to make a few putts with the breeze, which I think is the hardest part.
“So making a few putts and saving on the holes you get out of position, make pars at. Today it was a clean scorecard, which I haven’t done in a while, which was nice.”
Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard, who held the lead on Saturday at The Masters before a run of five straight bogeys led him towards a tie for 16th place at Augusta, had a troubled day.
Hojgaard made six bogeys in his one-over round of 73.
South Africa’s MJ Daffue began with a round of 69 that included six birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey, while countrymen Thriston Lawrence and Garrick Higgo carded 71 and 72 respectively.
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