Paul Casey cards eight birdies in Deutsche Bank Championship opener
Saturday 3 September 2016 22:04, UK
Paul Casey enjoyed a remarkable birdie blitz as he ended the opening day of the Deutsche Bank Championship just one shot off the lead.
Casey made seven birdies over the last 10 holes to card an entertaining 66 at TPC Boston as in-form American Ryan Moore went one better to join compatriot James Hahn at the top of the leaderboard.
Current FedExCup leader Patrick Reed fired a solid 68 along with Olympic champion Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and an "exhausted" Henrik Stenson, while Rory McIlroy salvaged a 71 after being four over through just three holes.
Casey, who was ineligible for the Ryder Cup after deciding not to renew his European Tour membership, was struggling at one over after eight before knocking his approach to the ninth to five feet to set up his second birdie of the day, and he then holed from just inside 20 feet at the next.
The Englishman's putter continued to fire as he reeled off three consecutive birdies from the 12th, although he then took three putts to get down from the fringe at the 15th before picking up further shots at 17 and 18.
Hahn and Moore, winner of the John Deere Classic last month, both kept a bogey off their six-birdie cards to set the first-round pace on six under, while Casey shares third with Fabian Gomez, Brian Stuard and Jhonattan Vegas.
Veteran duo Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker are among 13 players on four under along with Adam Scott, Ryder Cup hopeful JB Holmes and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year favourite Emiliano Grillo, who found the hazard with his second to the 18th before taking a penalty drop and holing out from 81 yards for an unlikely closing birdie.
Rose made an early birdie at the second and parred the next 14 holes before further birdies at the 17th and 18th capped an encouraging 68 while his probable Ryder Cup partner Stenson is also three off the lead.
The Open champion pulled out of The Barclays last week after complaining of pain in his troublesome right knee during his first round in New York, and he admitted to feeling the effects of a long season after responding to bogeys at 12 and 14 with two birdies over the last four holes.
US Open champion Dustin Johnson and PGA winner Jimmy Walker also returned 68s long with Reed, Spieth and Sergio Garcia, with defending champion Rickie Fowler a further shot adrift.
But Jason Day was unable to build on a superb eagle at the second - his 11th - as the world No 1 dropped shots at the fifth and sixth to sign for a 70 before he was informed that his family had escaped injury in a car accident.
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Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson faces a huge battle to avoid a weekend off after posting a 75 after he endured a horror show at the sixth, where he had two failed attempts to extract his ball from the reeds lining the water short of the green and eventually ran up a quadruple-bogey eight.
