Stars crowd leaderboard in Mexico
‘Little guy’ Paisley among top golfers at WGC event
MEXICO CITY – Chris Paisley, who describes himself as a diminutive golfer from Newcastle in his Twitter bio, is playing his fifth event of the season, one that has seen him tee it up on three continents.
He won his first title on the European Tour in the BMW SA Open in Africa in January in his first start of the season, then played well in three events in Asia.
Coming to North America to play in his first PGA Tour event and first World Golf Championships tournament hasn’t fazed him, either.
Paisley traveled to the first page of the leaderboard with a seven-birdie, one-bogey, 6-under-par 65 in Thursday’s first round of the WGC-Mexico Championship at Clue de Golf Chapultepec, which rests 7,800 feet above sea level.
The high altitude got to Paisley on a couple of shots, but for the most part he was in control of his emotions and golf ball throughout his round.
“Obviously, I was delighted with the score, and it’s the biggest tournament I’ve played in by a long stretch,” Paisley said. “To play as well as I did and shoot a great score against the world’s best players and to be right up there, I’m just delighted. I’ve just been very quietly confident about my game. I didn’t want to come here and just be happy to be part of it and just make up the numbers.”
Paisley stood one shot behind pacesetter Louis Oosthuizen, who made five birdies and an eagle en route to a 64. The leaderboard was crowded at the top with some of the game’s best players, including world No. 2 Jon Rahm, who shot 67, and reigning Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who carded a 68.
Paisley, who is ranked No. 83 in the world, weighed 125 pounds at the University of Tennessee, and his teammates called him “Bones.” A few years back when he was playing on the Challenge Tour, the developmental circuit for the European Tour, he was called diminutive in an article.
“I had no idea what it meant,” he said. “I had to look it up.”
But his stature — he said he’s 5-8 on his best day — has never hurt him.
“I hit the ball a decent way for a little guy,” said Paisley, who has homes in England and Orlando. “I’m not Dustin Johnson, who hits it miles, but I hit it OK, so it’s never really hurt me. … I’m obviously surprised that I’ve gone out and shot 6 under. That’s going to surpass my expectations. But I was quietly confident I could have a good day.”
Johnson, the world No. 1 and defending champion, had one of those days. He tangled with trees on seven occasions and hit another ball into a television tower’s mesh lining. Despite all that, he still broke par with a 69.
“It was a bit of a struggle, to say the least,” he said. “I putted decently, though. That’s what kept my score at least respectable. But I was not hitting the ball where I was looking, and that was the problem.”
Justin Thomas, who moved to No. 3 in the world with his playoff win in last weekend’s Honda Classic, did his best to shoot 72.
“It’s probably the worst I’ve ever felt over the ball in my life,” he said. “It’s a helpless feeling just because it’s a course that you feel like you can score, make a lot of birdies on. I have to find a way to somehow start hitting it better.”