Danny Lee is one stroke behind the leader after the wind-affected opening round of the LIV Golf Andalucia event in Sotogrande, Spain.
The Australian also collected six birdies, but gave up 16 strokes with bogeys on the par-3 3rd hole and the par-4 hole and finished the match at four under par.
“It was a little different than the practice rounds Monday through Thursday,” Lee said. “The greens got a lot harder. Some of the downhill putts were hard to hit because of the tailwind.”
“But I have to say that I didn’t play perfect golf. I was out of position a few times. Whenever that happened, I fought for really good pars and it was good, the whole round.”
South African Dean Burmester leads by one stroke after shooting a 66 (five under par) with six birdies in windy conditions at the Real Club. Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra is in third place at three under par.
Only seven of the 54 golfers finished the game under par. Defending champion Talor Gooch is ten strokes behind the leader after a 76.
Burmester said: “Valderrama is a place, I mean, even in the best conditions it’s tough. It was probably one of the best putting rounds I’ve ever had as a professional.”
“Every time I stood over a putt, I felt like I could do it. Days like that don’t come often – I certainly don’t.”
The 35-year-old Burmester, who won his first LIV individual title in Miami in April, made his only bogey on the par-4 14th hole.
“The wind obviously played a part. I think there were gusts of over 30 km/h today,” Burmester said. “It was like the US Open. It was hard and fast and yeah, like I said, I honestly don’t know how I managed to play five under par.”
Burmester’s Stinger GC leads the team competition at four under par, two strokes ahead of Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC.
Garcia, one of the home country’s favorites this weekend, shot 69 (two under par) and is tied for fourth place with Anirban Lahiri of India.
Fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm, still waiting for his first LIV individual title, is in a group of eight players tied for 16th place at 2 over par.