JT Poston shot a 10-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead on day one of The American Express at La Quinta Country Club.
The 31-year-old American started on the back nine and was the first to recover from his only bogey on the front four as he finished his round with an eagle and nine birdies.
Justin Lower is a shot behind Poston after a 63 that included back-to-back eagles, a shot ahead of an eight-man group that includes Jason Day, Joel Dahmen, Chris Kirk, JJ Spawn and Matti Schmid.
“When I feel like I’m hitting really well, I feel like I’ve got all the shots and I can get the ball close to the hole and really take advantage of those scoring clubs,” Posto, a three-time PGA Tour winner, said. “I feel like I can go out there and make a bunch of birdies like I did today, so a tournament like this will play into that.”
Canada’s Nick Taylor built on his win at the Sony Open last Sunday with a 65. Tony Finau is seven under, while Justin Thomas shot a 67 and Patrick Cantley shot a 68.
JT Poston took the one-shot lead at The American Express on an eagle and nine birdies.
Blades Brown, a 17-year-old prodigy playing unsponsored, shot a 72 in his first round as a professional. finishing with 12 straight paragraphs.
The American Express is the third event of the new PGA Tour season and one of only two pro-ams on the calendar, the event’s long history as the Bob Hope Desert Classic.
World No. 1 Scotty Scheffler had planned to play but pulled out 10 days early to give his right hand injury more time to recover from his horrific Christmas accident.
Defending champion Nick Dunlap carded a 67 at La Quinta in his return to the tournament, where he became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour.
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