Matt Kuchar, who has won seven times on the PGA Tour but not since the 2014 RBC Heritage, finds himself atop the leaderboard again.
The 40-year-old Kuchar carded a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 and is tied for the lead with rookie Kramer Hickock and Dominic Bozzelli after one round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Club http://www.mayakobagolf.com in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
“If you’re not driving it well, this course is extremely hard,” said Kuchar, who had only four top-10 finishes last season and tied for 57th last week in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas last week. “If you’re driving it well, you can make some birdies, which I was able to do today.
“ … Just struggled to get the ball in the hole (last year). Struggled to execute on a few occasions. My couple practice rounds (at Mayakoba) Tuesday, Wednesday, felt really good, driving the ball well.”
Hickock, 26, had three straight birdies on each nine in his 64, while Bozzelli, 27, matched that thanks to four in a row coming home.
Kevin Chappell of Fresno and UCLA made an eagle on 13th hole to shoot 65 and is a gigantic tie for fourth with defending champion Patton Kizzire, Anirban Lahiri of India, Richy Werenski, Bud Cauley, Abraham Ancer of Mexico, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, Adam Hadwin of Canada, Gary Woodland, J.T. Poston, Sung Kang of South Korea, Harold Varner III, Stephen Jaeger of Germany, Danny Lee of New Zealand and Matt Jones of Australia.
Ninth-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta is tied for 19th at 67 and Jordan Spieth shot 71 and is tied for 91st.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/mayakoba-golf-classic/leaderboard.html
