Justin Rose is a bit surprised to be leading after one round of the Dell Technologies Championship.
The Englishman, ranked fourth in the world, posted a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 to grab a one-stroke lead over Abraham Ancer of Mexico and Russell Knox of Scotland in the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.
“Playing in the afternoon, I expected some guys to be 5- or 6-under par after 10 or 12 holes when I got here, so I was a little surprised,” said Rose, who birdied three of the last four holes.
“I saw the pin sheets last night and saw some accessible pin position and thought there were several birdie holes. I expected the scores to be a lot lower, but I guess it was because of the tricky wind (in the morning). I’m glad I was on the right side of it.
“Just keeping the card clean made the birdies really count for something. To birdie three of the last four made a good day a very good day.”
Rose, who entered the tournament at sixth in the FedEx Cup standings, has won nine times on the PGA Tour, including the Fort Worth Invitational in May.
Knox, who has two victories on the U.S. circuit, wedged his second shot into the hole from 109 yards for an eagle at No. 15 en route to his 66, while Ancer, whose only pro victory came in the 2015 Nova Scotia Open on the Web.com Tour, matched that score with four birdies in his last six holes.
Beau Hossler of Mission Viejo birdied four of the last five in a 67 and is tied for fourth with local favorite Keegan Bradley, who sank a five-foot birdie putt on the last hole, Gary Woodland, who birdied the last two, and Chris Kirk, who birdied four of the first seven holes.
Top-ranked Dustin Johnson shot 68 and is tied for eighth with Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, James Hahn of Alameda and Cal, Adam Hadwin of Canada, Marc Leishman of Australia, Webb Simpson, Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain and Brian Harman.
Second-ranked Brooks Koepka shot 69 and is in a tie for 16th that includes ninth-ranked Jordan Spieth, while seventh-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the 2016 champion, is tied for 42nd at 71, with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in a tie for 57th at 72.
Defending champion and third-ranked Justin Thomas totaled 73 and is in a tie for 70th that includes fifth-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, while 10th-ranked Jason Day is tied for 89th at 76.
Sixth-ranked Francesco Molinari of Italy decided the skip the tournament after missing the cut last week in The Northern Trust, while eighth-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta is sitting out his second straight event because of an oblique injury.
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