Smotherman grabs PGA Mexico lead | The Express Tribune
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MEXICO: Austin Smotherman, chasing his second Mexican Open title and first PGA victory, closed with four consecutive birdies to fire an eight-under par 64 for the first-round clubhouse lead on Thursday. The 28-year-old American captured his first professional title at the 2018 Mexican Open when the event was part of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica developmental circuit. The tournament became a main PGA Tour event last year and was won by Spain's Jon Rahm, the world number one and defending champion who captured his second major title three weeks ago at the Masters. Smotherman, a college teammate of 2020 US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau at Southern Methodist, fired a bogey-free round to seize an early two-stroke lead over Canada's Taylor Pendrith, American Eric Cole and Germany's Stephan Jaeger. "Nice little finish," Smotherman said. "Just feeling good. I feel like my game's in a good spot." World number 342 Smotherman, who began on t