Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa has been feeling good about his game lately and it showed in the first round of the WGC-Mexico Championship.
The 35-year-old Oosthuizen sank a five-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole en route to a 7-under-par 64, the lowest score of his PGA Tour career, and took a one-stroke lead over Xander Schauffele, Chris Paisley of England and Shubhankar Sharma of India at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City.
“It’s a difficult course, especially if you are a little off with your game,” said Oosthuizen, who has won 13 times in his pro career, including the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews. “I have been playing very well lately and today worked out very nicely.
“I’ve been hitting my driver very well the last three or four weeks and did it again today. The greens were getting a little bumpy late in the day, but I was able to hit the ball close to the hole a few times. I hope to do the same thing tomorrow and the next few days.”
Schauffele, the 2017 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year from La Jolla and San Diego State, carded a bogey-free 65 to tie for second with Paisley and Sharma, who both were playing their first event on the circuit.
Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain posted a bogey-free 66 to tie for fifth with Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, while second-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain is seventh after a 67.
Pat Perez of San Diego shot 68 and is tied for eighth with seventh-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, Sergio Garcia of Spain, Tony Finau and Brian Harman.
Top-ranked Dustin Johnson, the defending champion, is tied for 13th at 69, fourth-ranked Jordan Spieth is tied for 23rd at 70, fifth-ranked Justin Rose of England is tied for 32nd at 71 and third-ranked Justin Thomas is tied for 39th at 72.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.
