The leader of the Mexico Open, Austin Smotherman, who recorded an opening round eight-under 63 to lead by one stroke, is four shots ahead of world No. 1 Jon Rahm.
In order to overcome a slow start and shoot a four-under 67, Masters winner Jon Rahm, who won the Mexico Open at Vidanta last year for his sole PGA Tour victory, had five birdies on his final 11 holes.
When asked about the circumstances, Rahm said, “Those first 13 holes we had virtually no wind, about as easy conditions you can get.I regret not taking advantage of the chance more often.”
“I’m happy with how well I played on the back nine and how the putt on the last hole finished it off.”
Despite having won the Mexico Open in 2018 on a different golf course and while it was a part of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica schedule, American Smotherman is winless on the PGA Tour.
Smotherman had a flawless first round, missing just three of the greens in regulation on a beautiful morning. He most recently did it on the par-three ninth hole, which served as his penultimate hole, and ultimately chipped in for his eighth birdie of the round.
Tano Goya and Erik van Rooyen, who are both one behind Smotherman and both at seven under, had strong finishes. The latter played his final five holes in four under, including an eagle on the par-4 15th, which he holed out from 141 yards. Tano Goya and Erik van Rooyen are both at seven under.
The biggest moment for the South African, though, may have been when he backed up and yelled, “Bees! Bees! Bees!” while standing over his shot with a four-iron on the 10th hole. Chez Reavie, Francesco Molinari, and the caddies were soon forced to seek cover on the ground by a swarm of bees.
“I just said, ‘Bees, bees, bees,’ to my caddie.” Van Rooyen stated, “And he looks at me like I’m insane. So I stooped down, and as soon as he noticed them, he did the same.
“Frankie and Chez look at me like I’m crazy, and then the bees just swarmed them after 30 seconds.
“Although amusing, I don’t want to be stung by those bad boys.”
Five players are within two shots of the lead following Tony Finau’s opening round of 65 at six under par.
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