In the 2017 World Golf Championships first round, Thomas Pieters of Belgium took the lead, with 65, five-under par, one-shot ahead of Scotland’s Russell Knox, on 66.
Born in Geel, Belgium in 1992, Thomas Pieters is 25. He started playing golf at the age of five, at the Witbos Golf Club in Noorderwijk.
Six players held third place, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner and Ross Fisher, all shooting 67.
Six players shared ninth place. Jimmy Walker, Charley Hoffman, Adam Hadwin, Adam Scott, Adres Romero and Dustin Johnson all shot 68, three behind the leader.
Adam Scott, the Australian world #17 was in danger of dropping off the leaderboard. On the back nine, he dropped four shots, and spectators thought it was going to be a very bad day for him.
Scott rallied and six birdies allowed him to claw back the two-under-par 68. Scott was the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone champion.
Zach Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Alex Noren, Jhonattan Vegas, J.B. Holmes, Paul Larie and Kyle Stanley were next on 69.
Another Australian, Scott Hend came in at par, with 10 others. They were Tommy Fleetwood, Paul Casey, Harold Varner III, Charl Schwartzel, Hudson Swafford, Xander Schauffele, Bill Haas, Ricky Fowler, Bernd Wiesberger, and Brian Harman, all on 70.
One disappointment in the first round was Jason Day, World #7 who shot one over par, 71, to share 33rd place.
The World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational is being held at the Firestone Country Club in Ohio.
This year’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone fields 76 players, featuring the world’s top 50 golfers plus this season’s US PGA Tour winners. See the official site for the latest standings.
