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Justin Thomas says it is pleasing to come out of the blocks quickly after taking a share of the Waste Management Phoenix Open lead. World number four Thomas, who was making his first appearance since the Sony Open in the middle of January, made seven birdies in a bogey-free round of 64 to end up in a three-way share of the lead on day one.
Rickie Fowler, who is sharing a house with JT this week, and Harold Varner III are the other two players sitting at the top of the leaderboard after both players impressed at TPC Scottsdale on Thursday.
Speaking about his quick start to the tournament, Thomas says he felt extremely confident throughout the opening 18 holes and is delighted to be in a strong position early on. “I was in control of everything tee to green,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily get off to the greatest start score-wise, but I felt like I was playing well. Those front pins were tucked pins, very hard to get to. It was nice to get finally get off to a good start at this event.”
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Scotland’s Martin Laird and American J.T. Poston are a shot further back on -6 whilst Tyrrell Hatton is the highest-placed Englishman after he went round in 65 shots for a five-under-par start.
The 27-year-old is joined in sixth position by South Korean Byeong-Hun An and the US trio of Bubba Watson, Scott Piercy and Charley Hoffman.
