Texan Burgoon starts strong at PGA Tour stop in Malaysia

Bronson Burgoon grabbed the solo lead in the first round of the CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia after a 9-under 63 that saw him go 10 under in his last 14 holes.

After bogeying the 13th, his fourth hole Thursday (Wednesday night ET), Burgoon rattled off three birdies in a row. The Texan finished with eight total along with an eagle at the par-5 ninth.

“I drove it well and I putted pretty good, so it was kind of boring golf, but that’s always a good thing,” Burgoon said. “I chipped in for eagle out of the bunker on my ninth hole, which kind of boosted me, then I kept going.”

Burgoon is in his third season on the PGA Tour after finishing 111th in FedExCup points last season. He tied for 53rd last weekend in the Safeway Open.

Austin Cook kept a clean card and birdied four of his final five holes to shoot 64. Cook is a shot clear of a threeway tie for third that includes Scott Piercy, C.T. Pan and Billy Horschel.

The first ace of the 2018-19 PGA Tour season goes to Danny Lee, who notched his third career hole-in-one at the par-3 fourth hole with a 9-iron from 145 yards.

Short shots: Justin Thomas, a twotime winner of this event, birdied four of his final five holes to card a 66. … Paul Casey also shot 66 after making two eagles in his opening five holes. … Defending champion Pat Perez opened his title defense with a 70, which also is what Safeway Open winner Kevin Tway shot.

Ryder Cup drama: Thomas came in support of Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk on Wednesday in the latest development of a multitiered drama that has hung over Team USA since its drubbing in France.

Thomas said he knew about the team pairings well ahead of the event, countering remarks made by Patrick Reed.

“That was something obviously that had been talked about in advance, but all I was worried about was that I knew I was going to play with Jordan and we wanted to take care of our match,” Thomas told reporters before the CIMB Classic.

This drama began when Patrick Reed said he was “blindsided” by being grouped with Tiger Woods rather than Jordan Spieth at the Ryder Cup, adding that the problem was “Jordan not wanting to play with me.”

Furyk responded by saying all concerned had been briefed about pairings well ahead of time and the pairings were 100 percent his call.

Thomas was the most successful American at Le Golf National in Paris, going 4-1 overall and 3-1 playing alongside Spieth.

Reed and Spieth teamed up to spark Team USA’s 2016 Ryder Cup victory. Reed struggled playing with Woods, as the pair went winless.