The leader won Sunday in England. He hopped on a plane and flew about 5,000 miles over 14 hours. He leads in Las Vegas. He’s jet-lagged, but everyone is lagging behind. Here are three things you need to know after the first round of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek Golf Course.
Tyrrell Hatton leads
Tyrrell Hatton was the best at last week’s BMW PGA Championship after four rounds. He is the best at this week’s CJ Cup after one round.
Hatton shot a 7-under 65 to grab a one-shot lead over Xander Schauffele and Russell Henley, and a two-shot lead over Jon Rahm and Tyler Duncan. Hatton played his first three holes at 4-under – birdie, birdie, eagle – added two more birdies for a 6-under 30 front nine, then played the back at 1-under.
All that after what he said was a 20-hour, door-to-door journey.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s fair to say I’m pretty tired at the moment,” Hatton said. “Still struggling a little bit with jetlag. And you can tell by my voice, picked up a little bit of a sore throat if you like on the way over. So I’m just – today was a long day. Very happy with my score and I just need to try and get back to the hotel this evening, have a good rest and hopefully sleep better than I did last night and fingers crossed for another good day tomorrow.”
Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm in contention
Schauffele and Henley each birdied their final hole – Schauffele the 18th and Henley the 9th – to sit one stroke back. Rahm and Duncan also closed with birdies – Rahm the 9th and Duncan the 18th – and are two shots back.
Three golfers are three shots back, and five golfers are four shots back. Defending champion Justin Thomas is seven behind, and Rory McIlroy is eight.
Brooks Koepka shoots 74 in return
Brooks Koepka, who has not played since August due to recurring knee issues, shot a 2-over 74. He was 2-under after seven holes, then bogeyed 8, 9 and 18 and double-bogeyed 15.
Matthew Wolff, who lost in a playoff last week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, fired an 8-over 80, last in the 78-player field. He shot 7-over on the front nine.