Wyndham Clark puts stars in the shade with 61 at Phoenix Open
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Friday 31 January 2020 06:17, UK
Wyndham Clark shone in the fading light at TPC Scottsdale as he fired a superb 61 to claim a two-shot lead after the first day of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Playing in the penultimate group of the day, Clark managed to complete his 10 under opener in near-darkness as he provided the ideal response to back-to-back missed cuts in his first two starts of the year.
Jon Rahm's bid for the win he needs to have a chance to dethrone Brooks Koepka as world No 1 began with a solid 67, but defending champion Rickie Fowler needs to go low on Friday to avoid another weekend off after he struggled to a 74.
The day one headlines belonged to Clark, who teed off at the 10th and made five birdies in six holes from the 12th before adding three in a row to begin the front nine - his four at the long third earning him a tie at the top with Billy Horschel.
The world No 178 then claimed the outright lead with a precise tee-shot to three feet which set up another gain at the short seventh, and a 10-foot putt for a three at the next doubled his advantage over the field.
Horschel had earlier also kept a bogey at bay in his 63 which featured six birdies and an eagle at the third, while two-time champion JB Holmes is alone in third on seven under after an entertaining 64 highlighted by a hole-in-one at the fourth.
Holmes made a terrible start when it took him four shots just to find the green at the second as he ran up a double-bogey six, but he hit back with a birdie at the next before his perfect tee-shot at the 175-yard fourth hopped into the cup for an ace.
An inspired Holmes then carded six birdies after the turn, including three in a row to finish a stroke ahead of a group of four players on six under which included former BMW PGA champion Byeong Hun An.
Local favourite Rahm cruised to five under with three to play before his lone mistake at the eighth - his 17th - saw him slip out of the top 10 and alongside the likes of Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama, with Justin Thomas a further shot off the pace after a 68.
But Fowler, who missed the cut at last week's Farmers Insurance Open, has his work cut out to make it to the weekend after he littered his card with seven bogeys, including five on the front nine alone.
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Fowler's three-over 74 was matched by Jordan Spieth, who has now tumbled out of the world's top 50 and remains without a victory since claiming his third major title at The Open in 2017.
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