Crowded at the Top of OHL Classic at Mayakoba


Six players fired 6-under 65s to share the top spot on the leaderboard after 18 holes of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. The $6.1 million event got underway Thursday at the El Cameleon course at Playa del Carmen, located just south of Cancun in Mexico.

The all-American co-leaders are Will MacKenzie, Robert Garrigus, Steve Wheatcroft, Hudson Swafford, Tony Finau and Daniel Berger.

Three in the group began play on the first tee. MacKenzie carded five birdies, an eagle on the par-5 13th and a bogey; Garrigus had seven birdies, an eagle on the 13th, and three bogeys; and Swafford posted seven birdies and a bogey.

The trio who started on the 10th included Wheatcroft, who crafted a flawless six-birdie outing; Finau had eight birdies - including five on his back nine - and two bogeys; and, after opening with a birdie on his opening half, Berger came home with five birdies for another spotless scorecard.

Trailing by one is another phalanx of players. Those shooting 66s included Pat Perez, Davis Love III, Brian Harman, Jason Kokrak, Brice Garnett, Shawn Stefani, Alex Cejka, Michael Putnam, Chad Collins, Jason Bohn, Charley Hoffman, Aaron Baddeley, Danny Lee and Blayne Barber.

Other than Czech-German Cejka, Aussie Baddeley and South Korean-born Lee, all those tied for seventh are from the U.S.A.

The shot of the day was made by American John Huh, who aced the par-3 15th - his sixth hole Thursday after starting the round on No. 10. The 24-year-old from New York City, who was raised in Los Angeles, used an 8-iron on the 159-yard hole for the first competitive ace of his career.

In addition to winning a new BMW Series 2 automobile, Huh - who captured his only Tour title at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in 2012 - earned a randomly selected fan a year's worth of paid mortgage payments. Quicken Loans is sponsoring the paid-mortgage program for holes-in-one made during all 2014 PGA Tour events. There have already been eight aces in the still-young 2014-15 season.

Defending champion Harris English also got off to a good start. The 25-year-old Georgian was among eight players recording 67s.

Nick Taylor, who won last week's Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi for his maiden tour title, opened with an even-par 71.

For all the scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/ohl-classic-at-mayakoba/leaderboard.html.