SÉAMUS POWER IS four shots off the lead after the opening round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, while Rory McIlroy is one shot further back.
Power, who started on the back nine, started with a bogey on the 14th before recovering quickly with a birdie on 16 to keep him at even par on the turn. He added three more birdies between the second and fifth holes, but bogeys on the fourth and eighth held him back again to leave him with a one-under 69.
McIlroy is playing in his first event since his recent success at the Players’ Championship, and carded a 70 in his first round. He had two birdies and two bogeys to keep him on even par.
“A little pedestrian I guess is a good way to describe it,” McIlroy said.
“Had to deal with those conditions early on, rainy and not too pleasant to play in. Made a few par saves early on that I needed to and then had quite a few chances on the second nine that I didn’t convert.”
Canada’s Taylor Pendrith, Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti and US golfers Keith Mitchell and Ryan Gerard shared the lead when darkness halted the first round of the tournament.
All four fired a five-under par 65 at Memorial Park before sunset stopped play on a rainy day with 18 competitors still on the course to complete their opening round on Friday morning.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, in the final tuneup event before he defends the Masters title next month, fired a bogey-free 67 to stand two adrift.
The only player within two strokes of the lead not to finish was Taylor Dickson. The American was three-under with three holes remaining.
Pendrith, whose only PGA title came at last May’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, would have led alone but made his only bogey at 18 after finding a greenside bunker and missing a nine-foot par putt.
His six birdies included a 42-foot putt at the par-4 fourth and another from just inside 24 feet at 17.
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Power four shots off the lead in Houston as Mclroy makes steady start
SÉAMUS POWER IS four shots off the lead after the opening round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, while Rory McIlroy is one shot further back.
Power, who started on the back nine, started with a bogey on the 14th before recovering quickly with a birdie on 16 to keep him at even par on the turn. He added three more birdies between the second and fifth holes, but bogeys on the fourth and eighth held him back again to leave him with a one-under 69.
McIlroy is playing in his first event since his recent success at the Players’ Championship, and carded a 70 in his first round. He had two birdies and two bogeys to keep him on even par.
“A little pedestrian I guess is a good way to describe it,” McIlroy said.
“Had to deal with those conditions early on, rainy and not too pleasant to play in. Made a few par saves early on that I needed to and then had quite a few chances on the second nine that I didn’t convert.”
Canada’s Taylor Pendrith, Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti and US golfers Keith Mitchell and Ryan Gerard shared the lead when darkness halted the first round of the tournament.
All four fired a five-under par 65 at Memorial Park before sunset stopped play on a rainy day with 18 competitors still on the course to complete their opening round on Friday morning.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, in the final tuneup event before he defends the Masters title next month, fired a bogey-free 67 to stand two adrift.
The only player within two strokes of the lead not to finish was Taylor Dickson. The American was three-under with three holes remaining.
Pendrith, whose only PGA title came at last May’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, would have led alone but made his only bogey at 18 after finding a greenside bunker and missing a nine-foot par putt.
His six birdies included a 42-foot putt at the par-4 fourth and another from just inside 24 feet at 17.
– © AFP 2025
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Golf Houston Open PGA Rory McIlroy Round 1 seamus power