Piercy, Fraser ahead at Doral
Scott Piercy and Marcus Fraser carded six-under-par 66s to take a one-shot lead at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Florida on Thursday.
Phil Mickelson is hot on their heels of the leading pair after he fired a five-under-par 67, while Adam Scott, Jason Dufner, Charley Hoffman and Danny Willett are in a tie for fourth on four-under.
World number one Jordan Spieth is three strokes adrift of the lead in a tie for eighth with Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker.
Rory McIlroy currently sits in a tie for 16th on one-under, while Jason Day is six strokes off the lead in a tie for 28th with defending champion Dustin Johnson.
Piercy, who missed the cut at the Honda Classic last week, began his round in superb fashion as he made four birdies on his first five holes before picking up another stroke at the eighth. The 37-year-old maintained his momentum in the early stages of the back nine as he made consecutive birdies at the 10th and 11th.
However, he began to falter after a bogey at the 14th and made just one further birdie before recording his second bogey of the round at the 18th.
Fraser also enjoyed a successful opening nine as he began with successive birdies at the 10th and 11th before making his third birdie of the round at the 14th. The Australian continued his run of good form on his back nine as he made four birdies, three of which came in a row from the fifth to seventh, before he committed his lone blemish of the round at the eighth, where he recorded a bogey.
Mickelson kicked off his round with three birdies, which included a 30-foot putt at the 16th, and two bogeys before shifting his game to the next level with four birdies on his back nine.
Spieth, who missed the cut at the Northern Trust Open last time out after registering his worst first round of eight-over-par 79, began his round of 69 with a bogey-free front nine that included birdies at the 10th and 16th. However, he was not as clinical on the back nine as he made two bogeys to go along with three birdies, which included a brilliant 27-foot putt at the sixth.
McIlroy, who is looking to bounce back after missing the cut at the Honda Classic, did not have the best of days during his round of 71. The Ulsterman endured a turbulent front nine that consisted of four birdies and two bogeys, while on the back nine a birdie on the first was followed by a double bogey at the par-three fifth.
Day, who carded a level-par 72, looked a touch rusty throughout. The Australian was one-under for his opening nine before a 14-foot birdie putt at the second took him to two under. The world number two then missed 12 and 13 foot par putts to record back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth holes.
Defending champion Johnson joins Day on level par.
Latest
-
Equipment
Miura targets wider market with hollow-bodied IC-602 irons
Miura are out to build on their existing market with new clubs that cast a slightly wider net in terms of player quality.
-
Videos
WATCH: Young woman steps up confidently to drive – and loses club behind her
Golf’s influencer girls can make it look easy.
-
Equipment
Pros give their verdict on Callaway Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X balls
Callaway staffers have now had a good period of time to get used to their new ball offerings, the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X.
-
Videos
WATCH: 7 times the pros horribly fluffed their shots like the rest of us
Just when you think you have it all figured out.
-
Equipment
Collin Morikawa switches his putter again – and marvels at ‘incredible’ results
Collin Morikawa isn’t a professional who changes clubs lightly but he also isn’t averse to moving with the times.
-
Videos
WATCH: Kid pulls off unbelievable flop shot over his dad’s head
The flop shot is all about getting up and down with precision and this kid has it all.
-
Equipment
The clubs that helped Peter Malnati end his title drought at the Valspar Championship
Titleist staffer Peter Malnati ended his long wait for another championship at Innisbrookâs Copperhead Course.
-
Videos
WATCH: Amateur golfer takes hacking to a new level – leaving crowd in fits of laughter
Hackers are going to hack.