Jon Rahm is the World No. Austin Smotherman, who is still searching for his first win on Tour despite being 341 places behind the World No.
Rahm and Smotherman are both past winners of the Mexico Open and two of four former champions on the field.
Rahm won the Masters this month and is the defending Mexico Open champion at Vidanta. He opened his first round with a 4-under-67 at Vidanta Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, on Thursday. Smotherman, who won the Mexico Open last year when it was part of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and played a course in Tijuana at the time, had no problem in Puerto Vallarta. He shot an 8-under 63 in the first round to take the lead.
Smotherman, who won south of the border, said that he still gets goosebumps when he thinks about it. The trophy is not small either. I’ll never forget having to kneel and take photos with everyone after the round. Lifting that thing was not easy.
Smotherman looked easy in the first round. He finished his round with four consecutive birdies, including a chip-in birdie of 37 feet at the ninth.
Smotherman said, “I kind of blink, and next thing you knew, I had four birdies left to finish,” he added. Smotherman entered the week ranked No. The FedEx Cup rankings place Smotherman at 160th. “Felt very present today. I felt like I was in the zone.”
Rahm was a sleepwalker through the first seven of his holes. He made two bogeys. He teed off at hole 17, his eighth of the day, and hit his tee-shot to 6 feet. He then sank his putt to return to par.
Rahm spray his driver right and left and only hit five fairways. He didn’t play his best, but he closed the day by making a 26-footer birdie for a score of 67.
Rahm explained that “to finish it off in this way, you always feel like you are stealing.”
Rahm made 116-foot putts and one-putted his last four holes in the first round.
Rahm competed in the RBC Heritage after a marathon Sunday finish at the Masters. He spent the last week at home celebrating with his family and friends.
He said, “I would have liked to rest a bit more but this is the life that we chose.”
Eric Cole’s life is certainly a good one. Cole grew up like many other kids who dreamed of playing golf on the PGA Tour one day. Cole was one of many children who dreamed of playing on the PGA Tour someday.
Cole, son of South African Bobby Cole who held the 54 hole lead at the British Open and Laura Baugh a celebrated golfer herself, made it onto the PGA Tour at 34 years old. He’s had a great season and finished second at the Honda Classic last March.
Cole has a great start to the Mexico Open. He shot a 6-under-65, tying him with Stephen Jaeger, and Taylor Pendrith.
Cole has won over 50 times in golf’s mini-tours and spent two years on the Korn Ferry Tour, before making his way to the top leagues. After a bogey on his first hole, no. Cole shot seven birdies in Mexico’s first round, including a 193-yard approach shot that he stuffed to within 2 inches for a tap in birdie on 16.
Cole gained four strokes with his approach shot.
Jaeger finished T-15 at this event last year. He has only two top-25 finishes this season, despite making 13 cuts out of 16 starts. He began his day on his back nine, and birdied four of his seven first holes. This included a 20-footer at 16. He had a good iron game as he made 17 out of 18 greens.
Jaeger, speaking of the putts that wouldn’t fall, said: “It could have definitely been lower. I hit some edges today.” “I will never complain about 6 under.”
Pendrith had a best-ever season-ending T-13 finish last week in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. This was a two-man-team event. Pendrith missed the cut in three of his five stroke-play events and had finished T-69 or T-70 the two times he played on the weekend. He’s firmly on the struggle bus, but not yet in Round One.
He said that his putter was clicking at No. He drained a birdie from 35 feet away on No.
