Thompson has lead in Detroit
DETROIT — Davis Thompson, in his third PGA Tour event as a professional, tied a Detroit Golf Club record with a 9under 63 to take the early first-round lead in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Brandon Hagy and Tom Lewis were two shots back. Seamus Power and J.J. Spaun shot 66, putting them another stroke behind the surprising leader.
Thompson is in the field as a sponsor exemption. The 22-year-old former University of Georgia star missed the cut last week at the Travelers Championship after tying for 35th in his pro debut at the Palmetto Championship in June.
Thompson took advantage of favorable conditions with rain-softened greens and light wind Thursday morning at Detroit Golf Club, missing only one green and needing just 26 putts in his bogey-free round with nine birdies. He resumed his round after play was suspended due to inclement weather for three-plus hours. Thompson matched the course record shared by Nate Lashley and J.T. Poston.
Players with afternoon tee times had to endure a long wait to begin playing and wind that was 5 to 10 mph stronger than it was in the morning.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau got off to a shaky start, a day after parting ways with caddie Tim Tucker. He replaced him for this week with Cobra-Puma Golf tour operations manager Ben Schomin, who said he was a caddie in competition for the first time.
DeChambeau, No. 6 in the world ranking, is trying to win a PGA Tour event in consecutive years for the first time. He had a chance two weeks ago to repeat at the U.S. Open, but went from leading the major with nine holes left to faltering and finishing in a tie for 26th.
The 51-year-old Phil Mickelson shot a 69, marking the sixth time he has been under par out of 11 rounds since he became the oldest major winner at the PGA Championship in May.
LPGA Tour
THE COLONY, Texas — Her nearly two-year run at No. 1 in the women’s world golf ranking over, Jin Young Ko was back on top Thursday in the Volunteers of America Classic.
Ko shot an 8-under 63 in hot conditions at Old American to take a onestroke lead over fellow South Korean major champions and area residents In Gee Chun and Jeongeun Lee6.
The 25-year-old Ko lost the No. 1 ranking when Nelly Korda won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday for her second straight victory.
Chun and Lee6 each had seven birdies in a bogey-free 64 in the afternoon.
Emma Talley and Min-G Kim were two strokes back at 65, and Lake Merced winner Matilda Castren was at 66 with Perrine Delacour, Esther Henseleit, Sarah Jane Smith, Gerina Piller and Jasmine Suwannapura.
European Tour
THOMASTOWN, Ireland — Australian golfer Lucas Herbert shot 8-under 64 in the first round to lead the Irish Open by one stroke Thursday as Rory McIlroy was forced to battle down the stretch to finish on even par on his return to the European Tour.
The nearest challenger to Herbert, whose only victory on the tour came at the Dubai Desert Classic last year, was Johannes Veerman, a 350th-ranked American who made seven birdies and didn’t drop a shot playing in the last group of the day.
The 91st-ranked Herbert birdied five of his last seven holes..