Summary Charley Hoffman grabbed one-shot lead after the first round of the Houston Open on Thursday.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Charley Hoffman fired nine birdies in an eight-under par 64 on Thursday to grab a one-shot lead after the first round of the Houston Open over a quartet of players that included Dustin Johnson.
Hoffman s 64 was one stroke shy of the Tournament Course record at the Golf Club of Houston held by five players.
He opened with a birdie at the 10th, and added birdies at 13 and 14 -- adding a burst of four straight birdies from the first through fourth holes.
"Hit it great," said Hoffman, who won the most recent of his three PGA Tour titles in 2014. "Hit a lot of fairways, hit a ton of greens, gave myself a bunch of chances and luckily enough a few went in today."
Johnson, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, powered into contention with a 10-footer for eagle at his penultimate hole, the par-five eighth and a birdie at the last, where he holed a long one from the fringe.
Johnson was tied for second with fellow Americans Roberto Castro, Scott Brown and Morgan Hoffmann.
Another four Americans were tied on 66: Johnson Wagner, Justin Hicks, Chez Reavie and Scott Pinckney.
"Overall, it was a great day," Johnson said after a round that included seven birdies total.
"I made just two bogeys and one of them was a mud ball on five."
"Then I had a penalty shot on the par-five 13th. Other than that, I felt like I played really solid today and holed some nice putts," he said.
World number two Jordan Spieth, trying to build momentum heading into his Masters title defence next week, carded a 67 that left him tied for 10th.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson opened with a 69.
Defending champion JB Holmes, who won last year in a playoff with Spieth and Wagner, withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. He was replaced in Thursday s group with Spieth and Patrick Reed by Luke List, who carded a 68.
