A strong mix of golfers are in Japan this week for the ZOZO Championship, but many PGA Tour stars find themselves nowhere near the top of the leaderboard after day one.
Xander Schauffele carded a 3-over 73 on Thursday and sits in a tie for 70th—only three shots better than dead last in this 78-man field. The reigning PGA Championship winner made an uncharacteristic eight on the par-4 9th hole, as his drive landed next to a tree root, leading to a complete meltdown. He called himself an “idiot” after the round and that this “stubborn” mistake ‘bit him in the ass.’
Max Homa, meanwhile, also struggled to get acclimated in Japan on Thursday. He also posted a 3-over 73, a round that featured six bogies. He hit only 4-of-13 fairways and then ranked 76th in strokes gained approach, so it’s no wonder he struggled mightily. Homa has not posted a top-10 finish since the Wells Fargo Championship in early May.
On the flip side is Taylor Moore, who has only one career PGA Tour victory but played superbly on Thursday. The former Arkansas Razorback shot a 7-under 63, and leads Eric Cole, Nico Echavarria, and Max Greyserman by a stroke. Funny enough, Moore played college golf at Arkansas with Echavarria.
“I’d say just very solid overall,” Moore said after.
“You know, I did a pretty good job hitting fairways and greens for the most part. Yeah, a couple of chip-ins as well, which always helps. Yeah, overall, very solid.”
Moore holed out from the sand on the 11th and then chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 18th. Having started on the back nine, he made the turn with a 4-under 32 and then made four more birdies on the front side to grab the lead by one.
More importantly, at this juncture, he has put himself in a position to move up the FedEx Cup Fall rankings. Moore arrived in Japan ranked 67th in the FedEx Cup Fall, but those players who sit between 51st and 60th at the end of the RSM Classic in November receive invites to play in the first two Signature Events next season. It’s a big deal—one Moore hopes to play his way into. Should he go on to win, Moore would move up to 51st.
And then, three strokes back of Moore is Justin Thomas, who shot a 4-under 66. He even changed putters this week, going back to a mallet.
“[The switch] was good. I made some nice putts—even some that I missed I felt like they were good. I burned a couple of edges,” Thomas said.
“When greens have this much break, you really have to be precise with your speed and match everything up. I feel like I did a really good job of that. I made some nice cleans up from four, five, six feet.”
Two notables who did not have their best stuff on Thursday are local fan-favorite Hideki Matsuyama and defending champion Collin Morikawa. Matsuyama shot a 1-over 71, and Morikawa bested him by two, posting a 1-under 69.
“I just kind of went through a little lull, missed a couple of numbers, started missing some fairways,” Morikawa explained.
“Out here, if you miss the fairways, it just plays a little bit tougher, and you just can’t get close to the pins. I didn’t really make any putts, so I didn’t really save my round. But it was nice to just have a clean back nine and finish in the red, still be in it. This is a tough golf course and I know I can still make a lot of birdies, just got to be patient.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
