Cameron Smith leads CIMB Classic
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Justin Thomas collected the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA Tour player of the year for the 2016-17 season a couple of days before heading to Malaysia in a bid to win his third straight CIMB Classic title.
But Thomas was slightly off his game in Thursday’s first round, with his 2-under-par 70 leaving him six strokes out of the lead. Cameron Smith opened with a blemish-free 8-under 64 and is on top of the leaderboard at a PGA Tour event after the first round for the first time in 64 starts. The event is also sanctioned by the Asian Tour.
Keegan Bradley, Poom Saksansin and Xander Schauffele were tied for second at 7 under, with Kevin Na, Pat Perez and Gary Woodland another stroke back. Brendan Steele, coming off a victory at the season-opening Safeway Open, shot a 67 and was among six tied for eighth.
Former Baylor School standout Luke List opened with a 70 and held a share of 23rd.
Thomas has barely had time to catch his breath after winning the FedEx Cup and playing in the Presidents Cup. He won his first tour title here two years ago, repeated as champion last year and has had a transformative year in which he has won five titles and his first major, the U.S. Open.
He’s aiming to be the first PGA Tour player to win the same tournament three years in a row since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic from 2009 to 2011.
Schauffele, the PGA Tour rookie of the year, said he was taking plenty of notice of how Thomas approaches this course and is trying to keep it simple.
“The rough has been up apparently compared to last year — that’s what Justin told me,” he said. “I pretty much tried to copy everything that he did, because I figured he’s a good guy to imitate out here.”
Thomas mixed five birdies with three bogeys. Poom and Schauffele made seven birdies to go into early contention, while Bradley eagled the 12th hole to make amends for his sole bogey.
Smith made eight birdies, including five on the front nine.
“The putting was easy actually,” said Smith, who’s chasing his second title of the year after winning the Zurich Classic in April.
Crowded at the top
MONZA, Italy — Francesco Molinari was among six players who shared a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Italian Open.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Alexander Bjork, Jamie Donaldson, Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace also shot 7-under 64s Thursday at the Golf Club Milano. Molinari, who is from Turin, is trying to repeat as the tournament’s champion.
George Coetzee and An Byeong-hun were both one stroke back in the European Tour and Rolex Series event, which has an increased purse of $7 million this year as part of the buildup to the 2022 Ryder Cup outside Rome.
Sergio Garcia was in a group two strokes behind the leaders, while playing partner and fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm was among those three shots behind.
Tommy Fleetwood, who leads the tour’s Race to Dubai standings ahead of Garcia and Rahm, had some ground to make up after a 71.
Molinari chipped in for birdie at No. 18, his ninth hole of the day, and finished with nine birdies and two bogeys.
“I started pretty much where I left off last year,” Molinari said.
Aphibarnrat led for most of the morning after sinking four birdies in his first eight holes before saving par at the 18th.
Three share LPGA lead
INCHEON, South Korea — Sung Hyun Park birdied her last two holes for a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead in the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship as the South Korean bolstered her bid to win LPGA rookie of the year and player of the year.
Park was tied for the first-round lead with Min-Sun Kim and Minjee Lee.
Cristie Kerr, coming off a victory last week in France, was among those at 67.
Park, who won the U.S. Women’s Open this year for her first major and is No. 2 in the world, played in the featured group — made up of the top three players in the world — at Sky 72 Golf & Resort. Topranked So Yeon Ryu opened with a 72, while Lexi Thompson had a 69.
The 24-year-old Park won six times last year on the Korean LPGA Tour. In her first season on the American tour, she already has won the U.S. Women’s Open and the Canadian Women’s Open. She leads the LPGA money list and is No. 3 on the points list of player of the year behind Ryu and Thompson.