China’s Zhang, Dou fire blistering 60 to set early pace with US pair at Zurich Classic
>> NEW ORLEANS: China’s Zhang Xinjun and Dou Zecheng closed with three birdies as they combined f or a 12-under 60 and a share of the lead on Thursday in the best-ball first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Zhang and Dou, the first two players from China to hold PGA Tour membership, j oined Americans Lucas Glover and Chez Reavie atop the leaderboard at TPC Louisiana in the PGA Tour event that features twoman teams.
Thursday’s opening round and today’s third round are best-ball, while the second and final rounds will be alternate-shot play.
Zhang, 30 and a two-time winner on the PGA Tour China developmental circuit, had five birdies on the day.
The 21-year-old Dou, whose five professional wins include a Web.com tour triumph last year that helped him secure his PGA Tour card, posted eight birdies as they surged home playing in the final group in a round that got off to a slow start in heavy rain.
Good friends Reavie and Glover played early and opened with four birdies in their first five holes.
They rolled from there, and said teamwork on the greens was the key to their success.
“We read them right early, and that just gave us good feeling for the rest of the day,” Glover said. “Chez birdied the first two. We were dead on with both the reads, so we just kept it going.
“We changed maybe a ball or two in a direction one way or the other and that was it. We were pretty right on. Luckily we were hitting our lines also.”