Mackenzie Hughes fired 11 birdies in a sizzling nine-under-par 63 on Thursday to seize a one-stroke lead over Ryder Cup-bound Ben Griffin and Matt McCarty in the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship.
The Canadian, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, admitted the thought of a 59 “crossed my mind for a second,” but bogeys at the 14th and 15th meant he had to settle for the first-round lead at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.
Hughes started fast with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd before piling on more at the 5th, 6th and three in succession at the 8th, 9th and 10th. He added back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th, rebounded from his miscues with further gains at the 16th and 18th.
“I had a nice feel with the putter, so it was really just about continuing to put my foot on the gas and go forward,” Hughes said.
“On 12 I drove it right and had to kind of pitch back to the fairway and I got up and down from 225 yards for birdie. So I did some stuff you can’t really count on all the time.”
Griffin, a captain’s pick for his first Ryder Cup after winning twice this year, rolled in eight birdies and holed a 17-foot par putt at the 18th to join McCarty, who signed for a bogey-free 64 with eight birdies.
World No 4 Russell Henley carded a 65 to sit tied for fourth with Lanto Griffin. Henley rebounded from opening bogeys at the 1st and 2nd with six birdies in his next seven holes, adding four more the rest of the way to finish with 10 birdies on the card.
US Open champion JJ Spaun shot a five-under 67, tied for seventh. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler, a five-time winner this year including two Majors, struggled to a 70 with four birdies and two bogeys.
“I think it was a pretty frustrating day overall,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I did some things well out there, I just wasn’t quite getting the reward.”
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Article Link: Hughes seizes one-shot lead in Procore Championship