Branden Grace posts nine-under 63 to lead the WGC-HSBC Champions
Friday 6 November 2015 12:54, UK
Branden Grace kept his hopes of Race to Dubai victory alive by firing a bogey-free 63 to set the pace after the opening round of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth lie five shots off the lead.
The South African, who came in to this weekend sixth in the standings and just over 1.1m points adrift of leader Rory McIlroy, posted nine birdies during a flawless display at Sheshan International to move one-shot clear of Kevin Kisner and Steven Bowditch.
Having reached the turn in 31, Grace picked up shots at the second, fourth and seventh before setting the clubhouse lead at the ninth by pitching his approach over the hazard and sinking the three-foot birdie putt.
"From the start I started hitting the ball nicely and missed a couple of short putts which was costly," Grace said. "It could have been lower, but I made a couple nice ones that cancelled the others out.
"The ball-striking was probably the best it's been in a long time, so that was the main key today. There's some low scores out there.
"The guys are playing some great golf, and when you play on greens like this, it helps. You just have to get the ball on the right line and it goes in."
Bowditch and Kisner were joined in a tie for second by Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Thorbjorn Olesen, who birdied five of his opening six holes before finishing with back-to-back gains, with Danny Willett part of the group a further stroke off the pace.
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The 28-year-old from Sheffield had briefly sat tied at the top of the leaderboard after following a birdie at the seventh by draining a 30-footer at the next, only to post a first dropped shot of the day at the his final hole to sit alongside Patrick Reed and 2013 champion Dustin Johnson.
McIlroy lies five shots adrift having recovered from a severe bout of food poisoning, in a tournament where he has never finished outside the top six in his four previous appearances.
The world No 3 birdied the opening hole and added another at the 14th but posted a double-bogey six at the next after taking four strokes to get down from thick rough to the right of the green.
After pitching to six feet at the 16th to set up a third birdie of the day, McIlroy added a gain at the 18th and picked up two more after the turn to close an opening round 68.
Jordan Spieth, who can reclaim top spot in the world rankings from the absent Jason Day with a top-10 finish, also sits in the large group on four under that includes defending champion and playing partner Bubba Watson.
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