The Associated Press
HUMBLE, Tex.–Rickie Fowler shot an eight-under 64 for a one-shot lead over Sung Kang after the first round of the Houston Open yesterday.
Fowler had his best round in six appearances at the tournament, topping a previous low score of 68.
He overcame damp conditions and a chilly, breezy morning to jump out to a hot start.
Fowler won last month at the Honda Classic and is trying to keep momentum going into the Masters next week.
The Honda Classic win snapped a 13-month, 25-start drought for Fowler.
Fowler held a three-shot lead over Vaughn Taylor and Keegan Bradley when he finished his round in the afternoon, then Kang closed the gap with his 65.
The 29-year-old South Korean missed a putt from less than five feet to bogey the 18th hole. Still, compared to last year’s final round at the Houston Open when he shot a six-over 78, he said he was satisfied with the improvement.
Kang is among the 115 players who need a victory to qualify for Augusta National, as Jim Herman did by winning in Houston last year.
Among the 144 players in the Houston Open field, 29 already have invitations to play.
It would have been 30 expect Dustin Johnson decided to take the week off after winning the Dell Technologies Match Play for his third-straight victory.
Stewart Cink, Jhonattan Vegas, and Kyle Stanley all shot six-under 66 yesterday.
Jordan Spieth struggled at times and shot three-under 69.
Herman shot two-over 74 while 2015 Houston Open winner J.B. Holmes carded a one-over 73.
Nick Taylor of Abbostsford, B.C. shot a three-under 69 while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont. sat even after shooting a 72.
Kang said he doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself by eyeing a last-minute ticket to Augusta after the first round.
“I don’t know anything about the future, and whatever happens, happens,” he reasoned.
“I’ll just keep doing what I can do the next few days, and I’ll accept the results.”
Heavy rains cancelled the pro-am event at the Golf Club of Houston on Wednesday.
The sun dried out the course later in the day, and the greens began to play faster.
Several players commented on the balancing act of avoiding the water hazards but also not over-playing the speedy greens, which are designed to mimic Augusta.
Fowler said he was fortunate to not have been too thrown off by the muddy conditions.
“I felt like I got some good breaks with having mud on the same side as where the trouble was, and that I could kind of keep it fairly conservative,” he remarked.
“If the mud was kind of kicking in, it ended up being a good shot.”
