Jon Rahm, at No. 3 in the world, is the top-ranked player in the field this week at PGA West, and he played like it on Thursday, opening with a 10-under 62 to claim the first-round lead at the CareerBuilder Challenge.
The 23-year old Spaniard, who won three times in 2017 (two on the European Tour and one on the PGA Tour), played his first seven holes in 6-under par (birdie-birdie-par-par-eagle-birdie-birdie) en route to a bogey-free round at La Quinta Country Club.
Those first seven holes were cited by the Arizona State product as the primary reason for his career-low round.
“It’s all thanks to the start I had. I was 6-under through seven holes and with a couple missed putts. Any time you have that going for you, you get thoughts come into your head, 60, maybe 59, Adam Hadwin did it last year with worse weather than this,” said Rahm, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens.
“But it was thanks to that. It was a couple great shots on 1 and 2 and then a great one on number 4 to set up the eagle putt and after that kind of just kept it going, stayed patient, I knew that if I kept playing good I was going to have more birdie opportunities and I tried not to get ahead of myself and I was able to do it.”
Austin Cook sits tied for second at 9 under, alongside Andrew Landry and Jason Kokrak.
Cook, the recent winner of the RSM Classic, hit a perfect 14 of 14 fairways in regulation and missed only three greens on the Nicklaus Course.
“The conditions were perfect, but I always loved desert golf and I was just hitting the ball well and seeing good lines on the greens and hitting good putts,” said Cook, who finished bogey-free with seven birdies and an eagle.
One further back, at 8 under, was a group of four players tied for fifth, including rookie Beau Hossler, Martin Piller, Brandon Harkins and Aaron Wise.
A logjam of six players, headlined by red-hot Brian Harman, were tied for ninth at 7 under.
Tournament Ambassador Phil Mickelson opened with a 2-under 70 at the La Quinta course.
“I need to be a little sharper with my iron play, but I thought that I drove it well — with the exception of one tee shot, I drove it pretty well today and putted okay,” said Mickelson, a two-winner here (2002, 2004).
Charlie Reiter, a star at Palm Springs High School, bogeyed two of his first four holes at the La Quinta course but settled down to finish with an impressive 4-under 68, which included five birdies and an eagle.
“There were a lot of people I knew, a couple of my teachers were out here, the whole golf team pretty much was out here on the first tee, we got a little photo in. My mom and dad and a lot of people I knew were out here,” said Reiter, who will be attending USC in the fall.
Patrick Reed, playing in his first event of 2018, struggled to a 2-over 74. Two-time CareerBuilder Challenge winner, Corey Pavin, withdrew with a neck injury after 17 holes.
TOP 10: ROUND ONE
1 Jon Rahm -10
2 Andrew Landry -9
2 Austin Cook -9
2 Jason Kokrak -9
5 Beau Hossler -8
5 Aaron Wise -8
5 Martin Piller -8
5 Brandon Harkins -8
9 Grayson Murray -7
9 Wesley Bryan -7
9 Nick Watney -7
9 Talor Gooch -7
9 Jhonattan Vegas -7
9 Brian Harman -7
OTHER NOTABLES
23 Zach Johnson -5
23 Kevin Kisner -5
42 Jimmy Walker -4
64 John Daly -3
64 Smylie Kaufman -3
64 Jason Dufner -3
88 Bubba Watson -2
88 Phil Mickelson -2
107 Kevin Chappell -1
107 Brendan Steele -1
125 Brandt Snedeker E
125 Bill Haas E
141 Patrick Reed +2
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
“This type of golf is something I love, La Quinta is really, really similar to Phoenix Country Club, which I played many times, I’ve also shot 10-under there, funny enough, and it’s just really familiar to what I’m used to playing. Four years of college on these golf courses, it’s something you’re not going to forget, so just happy to start the tournament the way I did.”
– Jon Rahm
LEADERBOARD: ROUND ONE
[table id=428 /]Credits: ASAP Sports, Getty Images
