Three tied after opening 64s

Justin Thomas rattled off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch en route to a share of the first-round lead with Rickie Fowler and Harold Varner III at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Thursday.

At 7-under-par 64, the trio led by one stroke from fellow American J.T. Poston and Scotland’s Martin Laird at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona. Thomas took a while to warm up on a crisp morning, but there was no stopping him once he found his range. Thomas rolled in a 10-foot birdie at his ninth hole, the par-four 18th, and then a series of brilliant approach shots left him with several tap-ins for birdie.

Fowler also played early, and a 15-foot eagle at his fourth hole provided a launch pad for his round.

Varner tied for the lead by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th, perhaps the only hole in golf where players expect to be roundly booed for bad shots. Varner was cheered rather than jeered by the thousands of fans surrounding the hole.

“I love entertaining people,” he said. AUGUSTA ADDS YARDAGE » Augusta National is getting tweaked again ahead of this year’s Masters Tournament. The par- 4 fifth hole has been lengthened from 455 yards to 495, according to the just-released tournament media guide, and it denotes a 313-yard carry off the tee over bun- kers down the left side of the fairway. Last year, the fifth hole played to an average of 4.16, making it the sixth-toughest hole. PIETERS TAKES LEAD SAUDI EVENT » Thomas Pieters struck a flawless sevenunder-par 63 to carve out a two- shot lead after the opening round of the inaugural Saudi International in King Abdullah Economic City. Starting on the back nine, he made birdies on the 12th and 13th holes and another on the 17th to turn in 32, before adding four more birdies on the front nine. Alfie Plant, Ross Fisher, Zander Lombard and Justin Harding were in a group of six players tied for second, alongside Jake McLeod and Renato Paratore.