India’s Anirban Lahiri among four La Quinta leaders after first round 64

I was a bit unsure of how I was going to go today. Dufner shot his 64 at Nicklaus course with eight birdies and no bogeys.

The Stadium Course had a stroke average of 71.825 in flawless scoring conditions in the Pete Dye-designed layout’s first round in the event since it was dropped from the rotation after its 1987 debut.

Hadwin says he believes the other new course in the event, the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, fits in more with other courses used through the years in the tournament.

Adam Hadwin had the best round on the Stadium Course with a 66. In fact, he joked, he would have taken 68 at the start of the day and walked away happy.

The Canadian birdied the par-5 16th, avoiding the 20-foot deep bunker on the left side of the green, and finished with pars on the island-green 17th and water-guarded 18th.

Having secured his card on both the European and PGA Tour, Lahiri got off to a good start Stateside, with a bogey-free round at La Quinta Country Club that included eight birdies, including three in a row from the 11th to the 13th.

Despite the rocky finish, Lefty remained pleased with his opening-round results as he now heads to the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West for his second round. The other two, Jerry Kelly and Anirban Lahiri, played La Quinta Country Club. Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, Davis Love III and Tom Pernice Jr. were a stroke back in the event for major champions from the last five years, tournament winners in the last two seasons and sponsor invitees. He missed birdie putts on the final three holes, the first a 5-footer. “So, it was unusual just how the mindset changes when this becomes the so-called easier one and you have to get it”.

Overton, who’s never won in 273 starts on Tour, entered this week with bad memories stemming from Q-School competition at the Nicklaus course a decade ago. I was playing three different tours last year and I was absolutely ragged by the end of the year.

“I love playing golf”. “I just woke up one morning and I’m like, ‘Why am I not playing next week?’ So here I am”.

Dufner prepared for the courses before travelling to Hawaii for the Sony Open. “So, I think it’s good, it’s good for people to come out and watch, because you see a lot of birdies”, he added.

Lahiri, from India, played last week in Malaysia in the EurAsia Cup matches. “Standing on 16 green (at the Stadium Course), you don’t really feel the wind”.