Rickie Fowler bounced back quickly from his missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Fowler, from Murrieta, sank a 12-foot birdie putt on his last hole, No. 9, to finish off a7-under-par 65 and tie Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Shane Lowry of Ireland for the lead after one round the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“I just didn’t make any putts last week,” Fowler said of missing the weekend at Torrey Pines after he captured the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship a week earlier. “It was nice to see a (birdie) putt go in on my first hole and I closed it out nicely.
“I had a little bit of redemption, but I know I have been swinging well and playing well. I just didn’t make anything last week. It’s tough to get any rhythm if the ball isn’t going in the hole and today it was.”
Matsuyama, seeking his first victory since the 2014 Memorial, made four birdies in a span of five holes through No. 17 in his 65, while Lowry had four birdies on the last six holes of the back nine after starting at No. 10, but made two late bogeys.
Anirban Lahiri of India collected five birdies on the back nine in a 66 and was tied for fourth with Bryce Molder, who was a bogey-free 5-under through 16 holes when darkness halted play for the day following a one-hour frost delay in the morning.
James Hahn of Alameda and Cal birdied his last two holes for a 67 and was tied for sixth with defending champion Brooks Koepka, Danny Lee of New Zealand, Greg Owen of England and Brandt Snedeker, who was coming off his victory in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Three-time tournament champion Phil Mickelson shot 69 despite a triple-bogey 7 on the 14th hole and was in a tie for 31st that included Bubba Watson and John Huh of Los Angeles and Cal State Northridge.
