Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is one shot off the lead after the first round of the Valero Texas Open.
MacIntyre birdied five holes coming home, including the last two, to finish on six under par – a stroke adrift of Mark Hubbard, who birdied six of his last eight holes to shoot a 65, edging ahead of a group which also includes fellow Americans Tony Finau, Davis Thompson, Andrew Putnam and Steven Fisk.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood is among those a further shot back after an opening 67 in a group featuring his Swedish Ryder Cup colleague Ludvig Åberg.
The opening round was delayed by 90 minutes by bad weather, leaving 24 players still on the course when darkness forced an end to play.
Among them was England’s John Parry, who was four under par with four holes to play, level with compatriot Marco Penge who dropped two late shots in an opening 68.
Robert MacIntyre is one shot off leader Mark Hubbard after the first round of the Valero Texas Open
The winner of the Texas Open will be invited to The Masters next week, live on Sky Sports, with the rest of the field made up of former winners, major winners within the last five years and players in the Top 50 of the current world rankings.
Finau is among several players hoping to be victorious this week to earn a Masters slot, having not missed a major since the 2017 US Open.
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“I feel like I’m really close to putting together a string of good golf tournaments. I’ve had some good days during tournaments, whether that’s in the first round, the final round,” he said.
“But I haven’t been able to put together I feel like really strong finishes and four days of good golf. So I’m off to a good start this week. I’ll just be looking to capitalise on three more days of good golf.”
Who will win The Masters? Watch the opening major of the year exclusively live from April 9-12 on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the first round begins on Thursday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.
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