Lee Hodges grabbed eight birdies in an eight-under-par 63 to take a one-shot first-round lead at the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota.
Hodges opened with three straight birdies at the 10th, 11th and 12th holes at TPC Twin Cities. He tapped in from inches away at the 10th then rolled in a 32-footer at 11.
He made another trio of birdies around the turn at 18, 1 and 2, then put together back-to-back birdies at 6 and 7 to break free of a group of four players sharing second on seven-under 64.
“Everything,” Hodges said of what went well. “Really committed to every shot out there, hit a lot of really good ones.”
Hodges, chasing a first PGA Tour title, said poor starts had contributed to three missed cuts in his last four events, so his strong start was key.
“To see that wedge shot go to an inch on the 1st hole and then make that 40-footer on the 2nd hole, I was like, “All right, here we go, might as well make a lot of birdies if we’re going to make a couple.”
The quartet on seven under included former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who had seven birdies without a bogey.
Brandt Snedeker and Tyler Duncan also had seven birdies and no bogeys while Kevin Streelman joined the group with an eagle at the 18th, capping a round that also featured six birdies and one bogey.
“All in all it was very solid, didn’t miss too many and made an awesome finish there, a great three-iron into 18 and then buried the putt,” said Streelman after drilling a 16-footer.
Matsuyama played before the worst of the afternoon’s gusty winds, but he needed some treatment for mild heat-related symptoms after his round.
“It got really hot out there on the back nine,” the Japanese star said. “I’ll relax this afternoon and hopefully get ready to play well again tomorrow.”
Americans Justin Suh and Nick Hardy and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo were tied at six under.
Hardy closed with an unlikely birdie at 18, where the rookie’s drive went well right and finished up behind a tree.
“I had an angle to hit the shot, I just had to hook a nine-iron with no follow-through,” said Hardy, who ended up bending his club on the shot that nevertheless left him an 11-foot birdie putt.
Defending champion Tony Finau was in another big group on five-under-par 66. He teed off on 10 and was five under through his first four holes thanks to three birdies and a 49-foot eagle at the 12th.
Garrick Higgo and MJ Daffue are the best-placed South Africans, on three under – the latter with a hole still to play.
Struggling former world No 1 Justin Thomas, who added the tournament to his schedule as he tries to avoid missing the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time since 2014, carded a two-under-par 69.
“I played really well,” said Thomas, who is also trying to secure a US Ryder Cup berth. “I think everybody that played this afternoon was pretty shocked with that wind. It was not only blowing hard, but it was blowing in different directions.”
© Agence France-Presse
