Kaymer in hunt at Honda Classic

One reason Martin Kaymer enjoys the Honda Classic is because he doesn’t feel as though he has to make a bunch of birdies. On such a serene Thursday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., that was required to keep pace.

Two PGA Tour rookies who last played the course at Q-school for the Web.com Tour, Cody Gribble and Wesley Bryan, each opened with a sixunder 64 in the morning and it stood the rest of the day. More than half of the field was at par or better.

Kaymer, a two-time major champion from Germany playing on a sponsor exemption, chipped in from behind the 17th green for birdie and closed with a two-putt birdie from 40 feet for a 65. He was one shot behind, along with Anirban Lahiri of India.

Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter were part of a large group at 66. It was an important start for Poulter, who is playing on a medical extension from a foot injury last year and has only six PGA Tour events left to earn either $220,301 or 154 FedEx Cup points to retain his full status.

Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang each shot sixunder 66 to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Thailand. Jutanugarn, the Thai ranked second in the world, had six birdies on Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course. Yang, the 2015 champion, had seven birdies and a bogey. Ryann O’Toole, Sei Young Kim, Minjee Lee and Shanshan Feng were a stroke behind the leaders.

In Johannesburg, South Africa, American Paul Peterson birdied four of his last five holes for a bogey-free nine-under 62 to top the Joburg Open leaderboard in the rain-suspended first round. The left-hander opened on Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s West Course.

England’s Aaron Rai and Paul Waring shot seven-under 65 on the East Course. France’s Romain Langasque and South Africa’s Jbe Kruger opened with six-under 65s on the West Course.