Aussies in the driver’s seat at Houston Open
Cameron Davis and Jason Day have quickly put their mark on the Houston Open with both players opening with rounds of 3-under 67 to take a six-way share of second place alongside Michael Thompson, Scottie Scheffler, Harold Varner III and Carlos Ortiz.
Davis has showed glimpses of form on the PGA Tour with two top-10 finishes last season and a share of 6th place at the recent Sanderson Farms event, however, Day’s injury-plagued body has struggled with just one top-40 result coming this season at the US Open where he finished T38.
Cameron Davis (Credit: PGA Tour)
Of course, both Day and Davis have what it takes to win but more importantly for Day, he needs the confidence of a solid finish this week in the lead up to his Masters tilt in Augusta next Thursday.
The Queenslander has four top-10 finishes at Augusta National including a runner-up in 2011.
While Davis briefly took the clubhouse lead, it was Brandt Snedeker, who came home with a wet sail to fire off three birdies in the space of four holes on the back nine to take the round one lead by two shots on 5-under.
Sneaker was quick to thank the fans for helping bring the energy back to PGA Tour tournaments. The Houston Open is the first PGA Tour event on US soil to allow crowds since the Players Championship was cancelled in March.
“I love having fans out here, I kind of feed off their energy,” said the 39-year-old. “It’s great to hear some claps and people excited for good shots and some birdies.”
Sitting in an eight-way tie for 8th are two more Aussies, Adam Scott and Greg Chalmers. Scott is returning from over a month away from the game following the US Open and a positive COVID-19 result.
2011 Houston Open winner, Matt Jones, is at 1-under.
Strangely, it was the big names who struggled in Texas with the likes of Brooks Koepka (T63), Dustin Johnson (T63), Phil Mickelson (T110) and home-state hero Jordan Spieth (T73) all looking for a turn-around in form tomorrow in the hopes of making it to the weekend.
