Two late bogeys on Thursday robbed Christiaan Bezuidenhout of a shot at a share of second place after the first round of the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Bezuidenhout teed off on the 10th in the first round, and four birdies in a row from the 12th and another on the 18th saw him turn in five-under-par 31. He picked up another stroke on the second after he turned, but bogeys on seven and nine saw him finish the round in a share of 10th place.
Up front, Wyndham Clark shot a bogey-free seven-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead after the first round. Clark saved par after hitting his tee shot into the water on the par-four 17th hole. In a share of second were Clark’s American compatriots Taylor Moore and Lee Hodges. Six players were in a share of fourth on six-under, one stroke ahead of Bezuidenhout.
Bezuidenhout’s bogeys came when he was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker on the par-three seventh, and the same thing happened on the par-four ninth.
Erik van Rooyen opened with a two-over-par 73 to be down in a share of 92nd, while Thriston Lawrence battled to a four-over 75 and he was in a share of 121st.
