TWO IRISH PLAYERS, Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell, are in a tie for 12th in the suspended first round of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open.
A third Irishman, Seamus Golfer, got off to a terrible start, however, and is positioned in 125th place after going four over after eight holes, when play was stopped because of the light.
Four players, Marc Leishman, Russell Henley, Talor Gooch and Luke List share the lead on five under, three shots ahead of Lowry and McDowell.
The play was delayed at the start for two and a half hours due to rain which prevented all the afternoon starters from completing their round. Power, consequently, has to play 28 holes today.
“My irons were really on and gave myself a lot of chances and made the putts,” Australian Leishman said afterwards. “It was pretty stress-free. Disappointing to bogey the last and not have a bogey-free round, but on a course like this I’m pretty happy with just making one bogey.”
“We knew we weren’t going to finish so just trying to get as much as we could in,” List said. “The course was gettable today, a little softer conditions from the rain this morning. Yeah, I was pretty patient today.”
Jason Dufner opened with a 66.
“I think the course responded pretty well to the weather we had,” Dufner said. “It was a pretty strong storm that pushed through. Thankful that it pushed through pretty quickly. It was soft early, but sun’s out now, the wind’s blowing a little bit, so the course is drying out.”
Tony Finau, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 12, had a 69.
Lee Westwood also had a 70 in his first event since the Ryder Cup. He’s outside the top 100 in the Race to Dubai and will not be eligible for the season-ending event on the European Tour.
