ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Charles Howell III bundled up and made birdies Thursday for an 8-under-par 64 that gave him a two-shot lead after the first round of the RSM Classic, the final official PGA Tour event of the calendar year.
Howell played the Plantation Course at Sea Island Resort without a bogey.
Austin Cook, who is trying to repeat as the tournament's champion, and J.J. Spaun were tied for second at 66, a shot ahead of Aaron Baddeley, event host Davis Love III and Chase Wright. The top six scores in relation to par all came from golfers who played the Plantation Course.
The Seaside Course was more exposed to the chilly, blustery conditions, and the best performances there came from Brian Harman and Peter Uihlein, who were at 4-under 66. They were tied for seventh with seven golfers who each shot a 4-under 68 on the Plantation.
Athens, Tennessee, native Eric Axley and Baylor School graduate Luke List were among those tied for 16th after each shot a 3-under 69 on the Plantation. Baylor grads Harris English and Keith Mitchell were part of a tie for 45th after each shot a 1-under 71 on the Seaside, where another former Red Raiders standout, Chattanooga's Stephan Jaeger, shot a 72 and was tied for 109th in the 155-player field.
Howell, a 39-year-old Augusta native, has two PGA Tour victories, the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill in 2002 and the Nissan Open in February 2007. He has gone 332 starts on the PGA Tour without winning.
Birdies abound for LPGA
NAPLES, Fla. - Amy Olson shot a 9-under 63 and held a one-shot lead over Nasa Hataoka and Brittany Lincicome after the first round of the LPGA's season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
Olson, a 26-year-old American, had two separate streaks of four consecutive birdies, finished with nine overall and never dropped a shot on what became a fantastic day for scoring at Tiburon Golf Club. Of the 72 players in the field, 45 were under par, and the top four women on the leaderboard combined for only one bogey.
Lincicome started with five straight birdies and totaled nine in the round to offset her lone dropped shot, while Hataoka avoided bogeys altogether. Hataoka is one of five women with the best chance of winning the Race to the CME Globe and its $1 million bonus - also in the group are top-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson, Minjee Lee and Sung Hyun Park - and she was in command of the race for that prize after Thursday's play.
Lexi Thompson (65) had five birdies and an eagle and was alone in fourth. A nine-time winner on the LPGA Tour, she is looking for her first victory of 2018.
A little drama in Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Francesco Molinari missed two par putts from less than two feet in the opening round of the World Tour Championship, giving Tommy Fleetwood a sliver of a chance of winning the European Tour season title.
Molinari was cruising at one stage, having reached 6 under after 14 holes, but he three-putted the 15th and 18th to finish at 4-under 68 at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Fleetwood, his only remaining rival in the Race to Dubai, completed his bogey-free round with a wonderful 25-foot birdie putt from off the green on the par-5 18th. He was a shot behind Molinari.
Only Fleetwood can deny Molinari, his closest friend on the tour, from becoming the first European No. 1 from Italy. Fleetwood must win the tournament and hope his partner from the Ryder Cup finishes outside a two-way tie for fifth place.
England's Jordan Smith, 26, and Spain's Adrian Otaegui, 25, shared the lead at 6-under 66. Another stroke back in third were Jon Rahm, the tournament's 2017 winner, and 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett.
An is on top Down Under
SYDNEY - Byeong-Hun An overcame four-seasons-in-one-day conditions to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old South Korean's eagle on the par-5 eighth hole, his penultimate of the day, put him at 5-under 67 at The Lakes Golf Club. He started in warm and sunny weather before finishing in wind and rain.
Australians Matt Jager and David Micheluzzi, an amateur, were tied for second at 68.