Louis Oosthuizen made a solid and composed start to the CJ Cup by shooting a round of 70 to finish the opening day on 2 under par at Shadow Creek Golf Course.
The South African fought hard and bravely throughout Thursday’s first round in Las Vegas by rolling in four birdies and dropping four shots before making a handy eagle on the final hole.
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The two-shot gain on the 18th meant Oosthuizen managed to start his week in the red by closing out the day in T14 and five strokes behind leader Tyrrell Hatton, who continued his fine form from last week.
The Englishman appears to be riding high on confidence following his victory at the BMW PGA Championship a few days ago, carding a spectacular 7-under-par 65 for his opening round.
Add it to the tally. ?@TyrrellHatton with another birdie to get to 7-under on the day.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/pQOgtWPt23
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 15, 2020
Hatton, who started the day on the 10th tee, went six under through his opening nine holes but was made to work a bit harder as he came home with a couple of drop shots.
He will take a one-shot lead into Friday’s second round at the event with Russell Henley and Xander Schauffele sharing 2nd spot after opening rounds of 66, while Tyler Duncan and Jon Rahm are a further stroke back on 5 under par.
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Dylan Frittelli, who is the only other South African in the field at the CJ Cup, suffered more of a challenging round on Thursday by going 2 over par for his day.
Four bogeys and two birdies saw the 30-year-old conclude the day with a 74 that left him in T46.
