Australia's Marc Leishman leads PGA Tournament of Champions

January 06, 2018 | 09:43

(0) user say

LOS ANGELES: Australia's Marc Leishman fired eight birdies in a six-under par 67 on Thursday (Jan 4) to seize a one-stroke lead in the US PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Marc Leishman of Australia plays his shot from the 18th tee during the first round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, at Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club in Lahaina, Hawaii, on Jan 4, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Gregory Shamus)

Leishman strung together four birdies in a row from the seventh through the 10th holes on the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua on Maui.

He rolled in a 19-foot birdie putt at the 17th to take sole possession of the lead, with American Brian Harman and Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas sharing second on 68.

It was a further stroke back to world number one Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and South Korean Kim Si-Woo on 69.

"Pretty solid," Leishman said of his round in the first USPGA Tour event of the calendar year, which features a 34-player field made up of last season's tournament winners.

"I played well, drove the ball pretty well - with the exception of a couple of drives - and the putter was really, really solid.

"So, happy with eight birdies," added Leishman after a day that saw strong winds buffet some of the bigger names in the field.

Defending champion Justin Thomas, whose victory here last year marked the start of a five-win season that included his first major title and the FedEx Cup playoff crown, carded a one-under par 71.

British Open champion Jordan Spieth struggled to a two-over par 75.

Fowler eagled the final hole as he bounced back from a double-bogey at the 13th, and Johnson eagled the par-five 18th to seize his share of fourth place.

AFP

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional