Rahm shoots 62, takes lead

LA QUINTA » Jon Rahm’s soaring 5-iron settled 5 feet away to set up an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole at La Quinta Country Club.

“It’s quite simple, honestly,” Rahm said. “Beyond perfect drive, perfect second shot, perfect putt.”

Two hours later Thursday in the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge, young Charlie Reiter matched his new friend’s eagle with a low hook around a tree to a foot.

“It was a little down in the rough,” said Reiter, the Palm Desert High School senior who recently played with Rahm at nearby Big Horn. “I just closed the face and trusted my swing and it worked out perfectly.”

Rahm also had eight birdies in his bogey-free round for a 10-under 62 and a onestroke lead. The 23-year-old Spaniard — the top-ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the world — played the first seven holes in 6 under on a sunny morning so comfortable he shed his light sweater halfway through his warmup on the driving range.

“You’re not going to make every single putt. You’re not going to hit every single shot perfect,” Rahm said. “I do feel like I could have made a couple more putts, just because I had so many that were makeable. But there’s a couple birdie putts, like the one on 14, that, if I’m being quite honest, I did not hit the line I wanted and it still went in dead center.”

Reiter, 18, finished with a 68 after shaky start to his PGA Tour debut.

Mcllroy’s patience tested as he returns with 3-under 69

a ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES » Rory McIlroy’s patience was tested on his comeback and he needed three late birdies to register a 3-under 69 that left him three strokes behind first-round leaders Tommy Fleetwood and Hideto Tanihara at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Starting on the 10th hole, McIlroy made 11 straight pars, which included a threeputt par on the par-5 18th.

Garcia shoots 66 to share lead

SINGAPORE » Sergio Garcia opened his season with a 5-under 66 and a share of the clubhouse lead in the first round of the weather-interrupted Singapore Open.

Playing his first tournament of the year, the Masters champion rebounded after making an early bogey to collect four birdies and an eagle at the Sentosa Golf Club.