Grace shoots 66, leads Texas Open by a shot
Branden Grace shot a 6-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Texas Open in San Antonio on Thursday.
The South African had a season-best 11th-place finish last weekend in defense of his RBC Heritage title. Steven Alker, Stewart Cink, John Huh and Will MacKenzie were tied for second at TPC San Antonio. Alker, a New Zealander who played in the final group of the day, birdied the final three holes.
There were 13 players packed two shots behind at 4-under. That group includes 2010 U.S. Open champion Graham McDowell and 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup member Brooks Koepka.
Two weeks ago, Grace was over par but still survived the cut at the Masters. He played the weekend in 3-under, and his best scorecard last week at Hilton Head was 68. The 66 on Thursday was his best round since Hawaii in January.
“That’s the one round I was waiting for,” Grace said. “I’ve been shooting the 69s and 70s, but not getting that one low round. This is nice.”
Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson fired a 6-under 66 in the first round to take a one-stroke lead over six players at the Shenzhen (China) International.
Starting on the 10th hole, Watson bogeyed the 12th but bounced back with birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 16 to turn in 34. A birdie at the first hole was then followed by an approach shot to 8 feet on the par-5 second, setting up an eagle that sent Watson to the top of the leaderboard.
“I just made putts today,” Watson said. “Most of my swings and most of my shots were really good today.”
Play was suspended for almost two hours Thursday because of the threat of lightning at Genzon Golf Club. The first round was completed Friday.