2 eagles carry Thomas into lead

Justin Thomas eagled twice in a 9-under-par 63 to take a threestroke lead Thursday after the first round of the CJ Cup in Jeju, South Korea, the first U.S. PGA Tour regular-season event in the Asian nation.

Playing the back nine first, Thomas started with a bogey at the 10th hole but made amends with eagles on the par-5 12th and 18th holes around four straight birdies from No. 14-17 to make the turn at 29. He added three more birdies and a bogey.

Chez Reavie, Gavin Kyle Green, Scott Brown, Patrick Reed and Marc Leishman opened with 66s and were in a five-way tie for second.

Eun-Hee Ji carded a 6-under 66 on a rainy day to take a threestroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour’s Taiwan Championship in Taipei.

Ji got off to a strong start with back-to-back birdies at the Miramar Resort and Country Club, and added four more to finish the bogey-free round. Fellow South Koreans Sei Young Kim and Megan Khang and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand were tied for second.

Tournament host Sergio Garcia shot a 5-under 66 to grab a share of the lead at the European Tour’s Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Sotogrande, Spain.

Stanford’s Conrad Ray will be inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. Ray, a former Stanford golfer, has led the Cardinal to three Pac-12 championships and one national title (2007) in his 12-plus years as head coach.