Young sets the pace in Hero World Challenge

Young sets the pace in Hero World Challenge

Cameron Young, the only player in the 20-man field without a PGA Tour win, set the pace early on and sustained it to finish atop the leaderboard at a bogey-free 8-under-par 64 after the opening round of the Hero World Challenge at the Albany course on Thursday.

The American was two strokes clear of two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, who rattled off six birdies on the back nine (including four straight from Hole 14), and three ahead of a quintet that included defending champion and World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, three debutants - Ludvig Aberg, the Indian-origin duo of Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala -and Patrick Cantlay.

The 27-year-old Young, who carded five birdies on the front nine, was one stroke shy of the best opening round in the tournament history set by Michael Campbell 19 years ago.

On the contrary, Nick Dunlap, a nominee for the Arnold Palmer Award as PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, who also fired in eight birdies, endured a bad run in the final three holes with a bogey, par and double bogey after having been 7-under. He was Tied-8 on 68 along with three fellow competitors.

In fact, on a day that was partly sunny with the temperature hovering in the mid-20s Celsius, 16 players returned to the clubhouse with under-par scores.

Asked about what clicked for him, Young, making his third appearance at the event, said some consistent good driving did the trick. “I drove it great. I’m sure I missed a fairway or two, but for the most part I was really well in position.”

Leading scores (after Round 1): 64: Cameron Young; 66: Justin Thomas; 67: Akshay Bhatia, Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler, Sahith Theegala.