MIAMI — Jordan Spieth won the battle of the “Big Three” but it was Scott Piercy and Marcus Fraser atop the leaderboard after the first round of the Cadillac Championship at Doral here Thursday.
The focus as the elite World Golf Championships event teed off was firmly on the marquee group of Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy — the top three players in the world rankings who are grouped together for the first two rounds.
World No. 1 Spieth had five birdies in his three-under-par 69 that left him three shots off the lead.
Third-ranked McIlroy signed for a 71 that ended on a sour note with a double-bogey five at the par-three ninth — where he was in the water off the tee.
World No. 2 Day settled for an even-par 72 that included four birdies and four bogeys.
He was upstaged by fellow Aussie Fraser, winner of the Maybank Championship in Malaysia a fortnight ago.
Fraser had seven birdies and was in sole possession of the lead before his only bogey of the day at his penultimate hole, the par-five eighth, dropped him into a tie for the lead with early pacesetter Piercy, who had rolled in eight birdies en route to a six-under 66.
The leading duo were one shot in front of five-time major champion Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson, who has found the going difficult at Doral in recent years, had seven birdies and two bogeys in his five-under effort.
Each of his bogeys was followed by a birdie at the next hole.
Former world number one Adam Scott of Australia, who won his first title in nearly two years at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Sunday, headlined a group sharing fourth on 68 that also included England’s Danny Willett, Jason Dufner and Charley Hoffman.
Spieth was joined on 69 by Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker.
Jang, Lee share halfway lead
South Korea’s Jang Ha-na has developed a habit of making the extraordinary seem normal.
In January, she made a hole-in-one on a par-4 and last month she won her first LPGA title, at the Coates Golf Championship in Florida.
The 23-year-old was at it again Friday, holing a monster eagle putt from off the green on her way to a 6-under 66 to grab a share of the halfway lead with her compatriot Mirim Lee at the LPGA’s Women’s Champions tournament.
Lee got up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the last and shoot a 67 to join Jang in a two-way tie at the top of a congested leaderboard after a wet and windy second round at Sentosa Golf Club.
Thailand’s Pornaning Phatlum carded a 67 and Norway’s Suzann Petterson signed for a 69 to be equal third, a stroke behind the leading pair, with a group of four players lurking just one shot further behind and a total of 34 players under par.
The joint overnight leaders, Taiwanese veteran Candie Kung and Australian teenager Minjee Lee both finished strongly after mixed rounds to remain in contention.
Kung regained her composure and parred her last seven holes after making a disastrous double-bogey on the 11th to shoot a par 72 and remain 5-under while Minjee Lee birdied her last two holes to get to 4-under after spoiling her card with five bogeys.
The defending champion, South Korea’s Park In-bee, was at 3-under after dropping three shots on her opening four holes while New Zealand’s world No. 1 Lydia Ko fell nine shots behind the leaders after a 2-over 74 that included a double bogey on her opening hole. — Agencies
