Taylor Moore birdied his last hole to complete a bogey-free, 9-under-par 62 and take a one-shot lead over Brooks Koepka during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Thursday in McKinney, Texas.
Koepka posted a sterling 63, the lowest round of the morning wave at TPC Craig Ranch, with an eagle and six birdies. It took nearly the rest of the day until someone was able to beat that, as Moore started his round with four birdies on the back nine and added five more coming in — including a 14-foot putt at the par-5 ninth.
Sweden’s Jesper Svensson shares second with Koepka, who seeks his first win since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf.
South Korea’s Si Woo Kim, Germany’s Stephan Jaeger, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, Japan’s Kensei Hirata, Keith Mitchell, Michael Thorbjornsen and Tyler Duncan posted rounds of 7-under 64.
Moore, 32, has had an average start to the season apart from tying for second at the Cognizant Classic in February.
“I think I’ve been pretty pleased and really just trying to stay patient,” Moore said of his year. “You know how it is, got to put four rounds together. So just really building toward that.”
Moore got off to an enviable start when his approach on his starting hole, the par-4 10th, landed 5 feet from the pin. He converted that birdie putt, birdied both par-3 holes on the back nine and added an approach to 4 feet at the par-4 second.
“I think my distance control coming into the greens,” Moore said of the one thing he was most pleased with. “I was really pleased with the iron shots I hit.”
Koepka went 3 under for his first three holes when he followed a birdie at No. 11 by reaching the green in two at the par-5 12th and sinking an eagle putt from 13 1/2 feet.
Koepka ranked 10th in the field in strokes gained putting, a promising sign as he tries a new putter this week.
“(Winning) would be a big confidence boost for sure because I feel like I’ve been playing well, the results just haven’t been there, mainly because of the putter,” Koepka said. “But I feel like I’m knocking on the door, and I’m very, very close. I would love to have a chance come Sunday.”
A high finish for Koepka would also unlock the next signature event, the Memorial, via the “Aon Swing 5” pathway. Koepka is currently 69th in the FedEx Cup race as he works to regain his standing on tour.
World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a 5-under 66 for the highest score of his grouping, as he finds himself paired with Koepka and Kim for the first two rounds.
“I felt like I was getting lapped out there for a little bit,” Scheffler said. “So I was fortunate to make a couple birdies late in the round and keep myself in the tournament. I feel like sometimes in these tests, once you start getting behind, you can kind of start falling pretty far behind, and it can be difficult to catch up. It was nice to kind of stay in it.
“Overall, it was a fun group. We had good momentum in the group the whole day.”
Like several of his peers Thursday, Scheffler enjoyed a bogey-free round. Scheffler scorched TPC Craig Ranch last year to win by eight shots with a 31-under 253, tying the PGA Tour scoring record. That win came before the remainder of a planned renovation that aimed to make the course more challenging.
Hank Lebioda, a 32-year-old pro with less than $4 million in PGA Tour career earnings, managed to eagle two par-4s during his 6-under 65. He chipped in from the greenside rough at the short par-4 14th, then holed out from 138 yards at No. 2.
According to the PGA Tour, Lebioda became the second player on tour this year to eagle two par-4 holes in one round (Jimmy Stanger, Cognizant Classic).
“It was a special day. Not often you get one eagle, let alone two,” Lebioda said. “So I was very fortunate to have that chip-in on 14 and then a great number for a full wedge on No. 2.”
–Field Level Media
