Scott Piercy shot 6-under-par 66 and was tied for the lead with Marcus Fraser of Australia after one round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on the Blue Monster Course at Trump National Doral in Miami.
The 37-year-old Piercy, who has won three times on the PGA Tour, birdied five of his first eight holes and held a three-stroke lead, but made two bogeys on the back nine– including one on the last hole.
“I got off to a great start and just wanted to keep it up,” said Piercy, whose last victory came in the 2015 Barbasol Championship. “I had two more par-5s coming up just wanted to keep making birdies.
“It was a little tougher coming home and I was a little off, hit a couple of weird shots. I just had to regroup and hit a couple of good shots to make a birdie on the 17th hole. I’m really happy with today.”
Fraser, who has six victories as a pro but none on the PGA Tour, birdied three holes in a row through No. 7 while finishing on the front nine to take a one-stroke lead, but then made his only bogey in a 66 when he hit his second shot into the water on the eighth hole.
Phil Mickelson continued his strong early-season play and was third at 67, while Adam Scott of Australia, coming off his victory in the Honda Classic, posted a 68 and was tied for fourth with Charley Hoffman of Poway, Jason Dufner and Danny Willett of England.
“I played really well and hit a lot of really good shots,” said Mickelson, who has not won since the 2014 Open Championship at Muirfield. “I really had fun, the way I was controlling the ball, and it could have been three or four shots better.
“I was driving the ball with so much confidence that I wasn’t worried about all the water and I felt really good with the putter, too.”
Top-ranked Jordan Spieth bounced back from a missed cut in his last start in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera with a 69 that left him in a tie for eighth with No. 4 Bubba Watson, who won at Riviera, and Jimmy Walker.
Rickie Fowler of Murrieta carded a 70 and was in a tie for 11th that included Matt Kuchar and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, while No. 3 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland was tied for 16th at 71 and No. 2 Jason Day of Australia totaled 72 and was in a tie for 28th that included defending champion Dustin Johnson.
