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Washington - Canada's Mackenzie Hughes, in only his ninth US PGA start, fired a nine-under-par 61 on Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the RSM Classic.
The 287th-ranked player in the world, who turns 26 on
Wednesday, reeled off nine birdies and nine pars to grab the lead at the par-70
Seaside course, which along with the par-72 Plantation course is used by each
golfer over the first two rounds.
"I found a good thought on the range this morning and it just kind of clicked from there," said Hughes.
It was the lowest first round in tournament history and a
career-low for the long-time developmental tour standout, who was one stroke
off Tommy Gainey's 2012 course record.
Hughes sank a 27-foot birdie putt at the par-3 third to close out back-to-back birdies, then birdied the odd-numbered holes to the turn, dropping a 28-foot birdie putt at the fifth and a 19-footer at the ninth.
A 55-foot chip-in birdie to begin the back nine sparked a
run that saw him birdie 11, 14 and 15 and have a chance to birdie the last
three holes to match Jim Furyk's tour-record 58. But he missed three birdie
bids beyond 25 feet and parred his way in.
Stewart Cink, the 2009 British Open champion, and fellow
American Jonathan Byrd shared second with career-low 62s, also at Seaside.
Cink left the tour in May when his wife Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer. She walked the course with him after undergoing chemotherapy in recent months and receiving a positive report from doctors this week.
Cink, a back-nine starter, sank a 35-foot birdie putt at the
par-3 12th and ran off four birdies in a row starting at the fourth before a
seven-foot par miss on the ninth hole, his last of the day, cost him a share of
the first-day lead.
American Blayne Barber fired a 63 to stand on seven under.
Another trio on seven under, who shot the low rounds of the day at 65 on the
Plantation course, included Japan's Hiroshi Iwata and Americans Cameron Tringale
and Kyle Stanley.
Iwata, who began on the back nine, birdied the 13th and eagled the par-5 16th but took his lone bogey of the day at 18. He sizzled after the turn with birdies on three of the next four holes and closed his round with back-to-back birdies.
Scores after Thursday's opening round of the US PGA Tour's RSM Classic, with the first two rounds played over the par-72 Plantation and par-70 Seaside courses (USA unless noted):
61 (-9) - Mackenzie Hughes (CAN)
62 (-8) - Stewart Cink, Jonathan Byrd
63 (-7) - Blayne Barber
64 (-6) - Michael Kim, Andres Romero (ARG), Steven Alker (NZL), Hudson Swafford, Jim Furyk, Kevin Chappell
65 (-7) - Cameron Tringale, Kyle Stanley, Hiroshi Iwata (JPN)
65 (-5) - Scott Langley, Chesson Hadley, Andres Gonzales, Martin Flores
66 (-6) - Will MacKenzie, Chad Campbell, Josh Teater, Brandt Snedeker, Pan Cheng-Tsung (TPE), Kevin Tway, Camilo Villegas (COL), Johnson Wagner, Tyler Aldridge
