Round report
Bridgeman shoots bogey-free 63 to lead in Japan, Jordan Smith one back
Jacob Bridgeman, who holed the winning putt at the Presidents Cup, opened the Baycurrent Classic with an eight-under 63 at Yokohama Country Club to lead England's Jordan Smith by one, with Max Homa in a four-way tie for third.
Jacob Bridgeman opened the Baycurrent Classic with a bogey-free, eight-under 63 at Yokohama Country Club on Thursday and leads by one from England’s Jordan Smith.
Less than a fortnight earlier Bridgeman had holed the putt that won the Presidents Cup for the United States, and this was his first competitive round since. He made eight birdies and led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, according to the PGA TOUR. He said he had felt “a little rusty” after the long flight from Las Vegas.
Thursday’s top 11
| Pos | Player | Score | Round 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Bridgeman | -8 | 63 |
| 2 | Jordan Smith | -7 | 64 |
| T3 | Max Homa | -6 | 65 |
| T3 | Mac Meissner | -6 | 65 |
| T3 | Ricky Castillo | -6 | 65 |
| T3 | Pierceson Coody | -6 | 65 |
| T7 | Keith Mitchell | -5 | 66 |
| T7 | Kristoffer Ventura | -5 | 66 |
| T7 | Michael Thorbjornsen | -5 | 66 |
| T7 | David Lipsky | -5 | 66 |
| T7 | Andrew Putnam | -5 | 66 |
Yokohama Country Club is a par 71, and there is no cut in the 72-man field.
The PGA TOUR’s official round-one highlights show Bridgeman’s birdie run and the best of the rest.
Smith one back on familiar ground
Smith is a PGA TOUR rookie but knows Japan from his years on the DP World Tour, and he did not drop a shot in his 64. He has made 17 of 23 cuts in his first full season in America, his best finish being outright third at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Homa among four tied for third
Mac Meissner was level par at the turn, then came home with four birdies and an eagle. Ricky Castillo holed out for an eagle at the 378-yard, par-four 15th, his sixth hole of the day. Max Homa made five birdies on the front nine, and his only bogey came at the 11th. Pierceson Coody joined them on six under.
Matsuyama four under, Schauffele seven back
Home favourite Hideki Matsuyama, who won this event in 2021, opened with a 67 to sit four under alongside his Presidents Cup partner Ryo Hisatsune, Min Woo Lee and Collin Morikawa.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele is seven behind after a one-under 70. Jordan Spieth (72) and Rickie Fowler (73), both making their first starts of the autumn, are nine and ten shots back. Tom Hoge’s 81 left him last of the 72 starters.
Round two under way
Round two began at 23:45 GMT on Thursday and was nearly complete at the time of writing. Keith Mitchell’s 65 had taken him to 11 under, level with Bridgeman, who had one hole of his second round to play. Ben Kohles had the day’s lowest round so far, a 62. The full round-two story follows tomorrow morning on our tournament hub.
Golf Channel’s live coverage of round three runs from 03:00 to 07:00 GMT on Saturday, and the official leaderboard has live scores throughout.
Sources
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