Cameron Smith fired an opening-round 8-under 64 at TPC Kuala Lumpur and leads the CIMB Classic after day one.
The 24-year Aussie went bogey free, hitting 16 of 18 greens. Afterwards, Smith cited accuracy as the key to his performance.
“It was pretty simple really, hit a lot of good shots today and made a lot of good putts. The putting was made pretty easy actually, ball striking today stood out today for me so it was a good round,” said Smith.
Rookie of the year Xander Schauffele, along with Keegan Bradley, and Poom Saksansin, are one back at 7-under.
A group of three veterans are tied for fifth at 6 under, including Pat Perez, Kevin Na, and Gary Woodland.
Davis Love III and last week’s Safeway Open winner, Brendan Steele, headline a group of five players tied at 5-under.
Tournament headliners Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama are tied at 2-under.
TOP 10: CIMB CLASSIC, ROUND 1
1 Cameron Smith -8
T2 Keegan Bradley -7
T2 Poom Saksansin -7
T2 Xander Schauffele -7
T5 Pat Perez -6
T5 Kevin Na -6
T5 Gary Woodland -6
T8 Phachara Khongwatmai -5
T8 Davis Love III -5
T8 Rafael Cabrera Bello -5
T8 Sung-hoon Kang -5
T8 Brendan Steele -5
ROUND 1 VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE: CAMERON SMITH
“Well, I grew up in Brisbane. It’s kind of similar to this but obviously not as bad as this. But yeah, I enjoy the heat. I always play well in the heat for some reason, I honestly can’t tell you why.”
Credit: Getty Images, PGA TOUR Communications
