DeChambeau ties career-low round to take early Shriners Open lead
Bryson DeChambeau picked up where he left off following his U.S. Open victory, overpowering TPC Summerlin en route to a 9-under 62 and the early Shriners Hospitals for Children Open lead on Thursday.
DeChambeau made nine birdies and zero bogeys while consistently crushing drives off the tee. He leads the field in strokes gained: off the tee and hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. He holds a one-shot edge over a group of five players after Round 1.
The 2018 Shriners champion also gained over two strokes on the greens to help tie his career-low score on the PGA Tour.
Despite driving the green twice on par 4s and hitting all three par 5s in two, DeChambeau wasn't overly thrilled with his ball-striking.
"Didn't hit it my best, but I put it in the right spots a lot of the times today," the 27-year-old said. "A lot of one-handed finishes, something I'm going to go work on on the range. But I putted beautifully; hopefully, I can keep that up and clean up the driving a little bit."
Here's how the top of the leaderboard stands after one day in Las Vegas:
| Place | Player | To Par | R1 Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryson DeChambeau | -9 | 62 |
| T2 | Austin Cook | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Harold Varner III | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Scott Harrington | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Patrick Cantlay | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Nate Lashley | -8 | 63 |
| T7 | Brian Stuard | -7 | 64 |
| T7 | Emiliano Grillo | -7 | 64 |
| T7 | Andrew Landry | -7 | 64 |
| T7 | Rob Oppenheim | -7 | 64 |
| T7 | James Hahn | -7 | 64 |
| T7 | Bronson Burgoon | -7 | 64 |
Patrick Cantlay finds himself in contention once again in Las Vegas after firing a 63 on Thursday. He has a win and two runner-up results in three outings at the Shriners.
Defending champion Kevin Na (5-under), last week's winner Sergio Garcia (5-under), and Rickie Fowler (4-under) all got off to solid starts.
Round 2 begins Friday at 9:45 a.m. ET.