WYNDHAM CLARK SHOOTS 10-UNDER 61 TO LEAD PHOENIX OPEN BY TWO STROKES

Wyndham Clark beat darkness — and everyone else Thursday at TPC Scottsdale.

Playing in the second-to-last group off the 10th tee, Clark shot a career-best 10-under 61 to take the first-round lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

He had eight birdies in a 10-hole stretch from No. 12 to No. 3, added two more on Nos. 7 and 8 and putted out for par on No. 9 just after sunset.

“I hit a lot of fairways and I just gave myself a lot of looks and the putter was hot," Clark said.

Clark was a stroke off the course record of 60 set by Grant Waite in 1996 and matched by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001 and Phil Mickelson in 2005 and 2013.

The 26-year-old former University of Oregon player is in his second full season on the tour. He missed the cuts the last two weeks, shooting 69-79 last week at Torrey Pines.

“I actually played really well the last two weeks,” Clark said. “I just wasn't making putts. I wasn't capitalizing.”

Billy Horschel was second, holing nearly 200 feet of putts in an afternoon 63.

“I looked on the leaderboard and saw I was at 8 under and I saw Billy Horschel was, too,” Clark said. “I said, 'Man, he's going to rain on my parade.' So, kind of to myself I said, 'All right, let's go get past him.'” Horschel had an eagle and six birdies. “Any day you shoot 8 under, no bogeys, you can't complain,” Horschel said.

He had the big putting day after working with instructor Todd Anderson.

“We made a couple changes, a couple tweaks to the putting stuff that was a little off,” Horschel said. J.B. Holmes was another stroke back after a roller-coaster start — highlighted by a hole-in-one — and big finish in the morning wave. He won the event in 2006 and 2008 for his first PGA Tour titles.

“I like playing in the desert. I just enjoy being here," Holmes said. “The greens are always usually in great shape. They're in great shape this week — they're quick, they're firm."

The long hitter from Kentucky played the first five holes in even par, following a double bogey on the second, with a birdie on the third, the ace on the fourth and a bogey on the fifth. He used a 7-iron on the 175-yard fourth.

“I didn't feel like everything was going my way, so I wasn't thinking it was actually going to go in,” Holmes said.