Saturday 6 February 2016 12:21, UK
Shane Lowry birdied five of his first nine holes at TPC Scottsdale to take a share of the lead after the opening round of the Phoenix Open.
The Irishman mixed eight gains with two bogeys on his way to a six-under 65 at TPC Scottsdale, to join Hideki Matsuyama and world No 4 Rickie Fowler in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard.
After a hat-trick of birdies from the 16th saw Lowry reach the turn in 31, the Ryder Cup hopeful followed an eight-foot gain at the third by sinking a six-footer at the fourth to temporarily hold the outright advantage.
Lowry then recovered from successive blemishes from the fifth to drain a 25-footer at the seventh before finishing his round with two pars.
"I started the round beautifully and made a few birdies, holed a couple of long putts," Lowry said. "I then had a bit of a slip-up there in the middle of the play.
"I just became a little bit tense there and that's something that I need to work on."
Fowler bounced back from his missed cut at Torrey Pines last week to birdie three of his four holes and hole a long-range eagle putt at the 15th.
A close-range gain at the third moved Fowler to five under, before he capped round by picking up a shot at the ninth despite finding a fairway bunker.
"It's not one that you try and pull off a lot," Fowler said about his approach in to the 18th. "I knew I could hit it, but I had to hit it perfect."
"I made some great swings, made a lot of good putts and it was nice to see the ball go in the hole after last week."
Frost saw the opening round delayed by over an hour earlier in the morning, meaning a number of players couldn't complete their rounds before play was suspended due to darkness.
Matsuyama, who has finished inside the top-5 in his previous two appearances in this event, completes the trip on six under, with Anirban Lahiri and Bryce Molder, who still has two holes to play, a stroke off the pace.
England's Greg Owen and last week's Farmers Insurance Open champion Brandt Snedeker are part of a five-strong group on four under, while Phil Mickelson is a further shot back despite running up an ugly triple-bogey at the fifth after sending his tee shot out of bounds.
Watch the Phoenix Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Live featured group coverage gets underway on Friday from 2.30pm. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV
