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La Quinta, Calif. (AP) — PGA Tour rookie Davis Thompson played his first six holes at 7-under at La Quinta on Thursday. Jon Rahm and four others after the first round of American Express.
The 23-year-old got off to a great start with birdies on three of the first four holes and eagles on both par-5s on the fifth and sixth holes on the front nine. He made the turn on his 8-under 28. , the lowest front nine score in La Quinta.
Thompson got off to a perfect start on a sunny day in the Southern California desert, finishing two places behind Rahm, Tyler Duncan, Taylor Montgomery, Matty Schmidt and Sam Barnes.
“I just got off to a hot start and coasted halfway through,” said Thompson, who finished with a birdie. “It’s always good to see a few putts coming in early and you can keep rolling with confidence.”
World No. 4 Rahm, who won at Kapalua two weeks ago, posted a 64 at La Quinta, one of the three courses used in the first three rounds. After a 54-hole cut, the final round will take place on the PGA West’s Stadium Course.
“I’m picky about a lot of things. But it’s a great start to the tournament,” Rahm said. It’s a solid round of golf and a great play.Hopefully I can keep it up all week and feel a little better from the tee to the green.”
The field includes 5 of the top 7 players in the world and 10 of the top 20.
World No. 6 Xander Schauffele took the field after being tested for a cramp in his back muscles, but was in a group of nine with a 7-under 65.
Second-placed Scotty Schaeffler and fifth-placed Patrick Cantlay each hit 68 at La Quinta, while seventh-placed Will Zaratris hit 3-under 69 at Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Thompson said he had a good warm-up and “had good numbers” on the hole where he made the eagle.
“I actually missed the 6th green and chipped in. I had two good swings and had a really good chip and a really good putt,” he said.
It was his first competitive round at the PGA West, but Thompson said he stopped here to play the Nicklaus Course before heading to Hawaii for the Sony Open last week. “So I was kind of used to it,” said Thompson, who will play at the course on Friday.
Rickie Fowler fired 68 shots at La Quinta. Fowler will enter the first tournament of 2023 after his two top 10 finishes in the fall. This includes his runner-up finish at the ZOZO Championship in Japan.
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