Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas are sharing more than a house this week.
Thomas and Fowler both shot 7-under-par 64 and are tied for the lead with Harold Varner III after the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale https://tpc.com/scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“I was really hoping I was going to make that last putt,” said Fowler, who missed a 24-foot birdie putt on No. 9 that would have given him the outright lead. “I hit it perfect and I thought it was going to break a little more at the end. It didn’t.
“We enjoy pushing each other. I wanted bragging rights at dinner tonight. That was a little extra motivation. It would just be nice to be able to needle him a little bit. We’re going to keep it rolling, it’s going to be fun, hopefully we can keep it going into Sunday and put on a little boxing match.”
Fowler (pictured right), from Murrieta, highlighted his bogey-free round with a 17-foot eagle putt on the 13th hole.
Thomas (left), the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4 in the world, birdied seven of 10 holes through No. 6 in another bogey-free round after also starting on the 10th hole.
“I didn’t necessarily have a great start because the greens were a little wet, making the ball skid, and it was tough to get the ball close to the hole,” said Thomas, who started with five straight pars before getting things rolling. “But I was driving the ball well, had wedges into the greens and made some stress-free birdies.
“I haven’t played this course that great, but I like it from tee to green and feel that it suits my game. You have to stay patients and you can get on a pretty good roll here. It was a great day today and I felt in control.”
Fowler and Thomas played early, while Varner came along in the afternoon wave and made eight birdies to offset a single bogey in his 64.
Varner tied for the lead by sinking a 31-foot birdie putt in front of the 20,000 boisterous fans on the famous 16th hole in what is known as “The Greatest Show on Grass,” but missed a 27-footer on the last hole that would have given him the outright lead.
“It’s easy to get up for,” Varner said of playing in the stadium-like setting at No. 16. “I love it. It’s awesome to perform in front of all those people. If I wasn’t playing golf, I’d be right in there with them. It’s fun.”
Martin Laird of Scotland holed a seven-foot eagle putt on the third hole en route to a 65 and is in a tie for fourth with J.T. Poston, who had three birdies on each nine in his bogey-free 65, while Bubba Watson had a bogey-free 66 and is tied for sixth with Byeong Hun An of South Korea, Tyrrell Hatton of England, Charlie Hoffman of Poway and Scott Piercy.
Sixth-ranked Jon Rahm and seventh-ranked Xander Schuaffele of La Jolla and San Diego State both shot 67s and are in a tie for 11th, while three-time Phoenix champion Phil Mickelson, like Rahm a local hero who played nearby at Arizona State, is tied for 27th at 68.
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