Tiger Woods’ invitational event on the PGA Tour, the Hero World Challenge, once again brings together 20 of the world’s top golfers. On day one at Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas, Austria’s Sepp Straka impressed with a bogey-free round of six under par to join a five-way tie at the top. Alongside Straka, Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Akshay Bhatia, and Wyndham Clark also share the lead after the opening round.
PGA Tour: Scheffler Drops Solo Lead on Final Hole
Scottie Scheffler looked poised to take the solo lead late on Thursday after a near-flawless round. The American started strong with birdies on holes 2 and 3, followed by another on 6. He narrowly missed an eagle on 7 but still carded his fourth birdie. At four under heading to the back nine, Scheffler added birdies on holes 13, 14, and 15 to tie J.J. Spaun for the lead. Spaun, who teed off earlier, bogeyed the 18th, giving Scheffler a chance to take the outright lead. However, he too faltered at the challenging final hole, settling for a bogey and a share of the lead heading into Friday.
Sepp Straka’s Bogey-Free Round Puts Him on Top
Sepp Straka made a strong return in his first individual event since the Tour Championship in August. The Austrian showed no signs of rust, starting with a birdie on the opening hole. He added another on the par-5 third, narrowly missing an eagle chip. A quiet front nine left him at two under, but Straka caught fire on the back nine. He stuck his tee shot close on 12 for an easy birdie, followed by another on 14. With birdies on 17 and 18—holes that challenged many—Straka surged into the five-way tie for the lead heading into round two.