Piercy and Highsmith share Puerto Rico Open lead

MIAMI: Scot Piercy and Joe Highsmith shared the clubhouse lead at the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open before the first round action was delayed by rain.

Play resumed ater a two hour delay but bad light meant that a number of players were unable to finish their rounds.

Piercy, starting on the back nine, made an eagle on the par-4 14th, where he holed out from the fairway, but made three bogeys in his seven-under round of 65 at Grande Reserve golf Club in Rio Grande.

He repaired the damage with birdies on his final three holes and made it into the clubhouse before the worst of the rain.

“I hit some really good shots...i played most of the hard holes prety well,” he said. In contrast, Highsmith was bogey free for his 65. “t was a prety good day all around, like smooth sailing, for sure. I just stayed out of trouble all day and did a prety good job just sticking to my process all day. Made a lot of puts early, which helps get the day going, for sure. Just kind of kept on the gas all day, so it was great,” he said.

Four players were a stroke behind the leaders -- Americans Brice Garnet, Erik Barnes and Kevin Streelman along with South African Garrick Higgo.

Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira and Ryo Hisatune, Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard. Scotland’s Martin Laird, German Mati Schmid and local favorite Rafael Campos were all in the group a further shot back. The tournament is played opposite this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, one of the PGA Tour’s signature events designed to showcase the game’s top talent.

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry picked up five shots in four holes on the back nine on Thursday on the way to a six-under-par 66 and a one-stroke first-round lead in the US PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Ireland’s Lowry, who acknowledged his record at Bay Hill in Orlando is “incredibly bad,” rolled in a 41-foot birdie put at the second, but it was on the back nine where he did the most damage, starting with a four-foot birdie put at the 10th.

He followed with a 35-foot birdie at 11, an 18-foot eagle at 12 and a 20-foot birdie at 13 to reach six-under. Ater a bogey at 14, he rolled in an eight-foot birdie put at the par-three 17th to finish the day one stroke in front of former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and unheralded American Justin Lower.