La Quinta (USA), Jan 23 (PTI) Indian-origin golfers Akshay Bhatia, Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Sahith Theegala made slow starts at La Quinta Country Club to find themselves down on leader board at the American Express.
Bhatia opened with a solid 4-under 68 to sit at -71, while Sudarshan, coming off an impressive tied-13th finish last week, carded a 2-under 70 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course but found himself down the leaderboard at T-106 due to the exceptionally low scoring.
Theegala, competing on the Pete Dye Stadium Course — the toughest of the three — posted a 1-under 71 and was T-118 at day’s end.
Earlier, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler delivered a very solid bogey-free opening round of 9-under 63 to sit one shot off the lead.
The American Express is unique in that players compete across three different courses — La Quinta Country Club, the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the Pete Dye Stadium Course — over the first three rounds before the cut is applied.
The format allows for a large 156-player field and often encourages aggressive play, and Thursday was no exception.
Leading the scores were Min Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody with 10-under 62s on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, which is the easiest layout in the rotation.
The course played nearly four shots easier than the Stadium Course.
Scheffler’s 63 was his lowest 18-hole score in 19 career rounds at The American Express and marked his first start of the season against a full field with a 36-hole cut since September in Napa, where he claimed victory.
He hit just five of 14 fairways but showed sharp iron play and found the greens well.
His lone missed green came at the 17th hole, where he chipped in for birdie.
Nine players finished the day at 9-under 63, tied one shot off the lead. Among them were Vince Whaley and S.H. Kim, both seeking their maiden PGA TOUR victories, as well as Ben Griffin, Patrick Cantlay and Jason Day.
Griffin’s strong start marked his seventh consecutive event opening inside the top eight after 18 holes, a streak dating back to the 2025 Wyndham Championship.
Day’s round was notable as he posted the lowest score of the day on the Pete Dye Stadium Course, which traditionally plays as the sternest test.
Patrick Cantlay, who made 10 birdies against a single bogey on the Nicklaus Course.
Defending champion Sepp Straka struggled to gain traction, finishing at even par after a round that included a double bogey. PTI Corr UNG
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