Three golfers, namely Branden Grace, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra and Richard Bland, tied the lead at the end of the first round of the Bangkok tournament of the LIV circuit played on Friday.
The leading trio returned a 65, seven under par, to give themselves a priority shot over Ian Poulter and Marc Leishman. Among the household names in sixth place with a record of 67 (-5) is American Brooks Koepka. For their part, veteran Phil Mickelson and slugger Bryson DeChambeau are in a group holding the 14th level at 69 (-3).
It was a tougher day for the most recent British Open champion, Cameron Smith. The winner of the last LIV tournament, that of Chicago, was satisfied with the par of 72 and is in 41e square. That’s two more strokes than 21st-ranked Dustin Johnson.
The 54-hole competition will end on Sunday.