Theegala fired a 3-under 69 to finish tied-ninth after round one, four shots behind leader Cameron Young, who set the pace with a flawless 8-under 64 at the $20 million event. Bhatia carded a 2-under 70 to be tied-15th, while Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju opened with a 74 to sit tied-52nd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Theegala began aggressively, picking up three birdies within his first five holes to quickly climb the leaderboard. Although his momentum slowed mid-round, he maintained composure to stay under par. His card included birdies on the par-4 second, par-3 third, and par-4 fifth, followed later by gains on the par-5 10th and par-3 15th. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Dropped shots on the 11th and 13th holes prevented a lower score, but the 69 keeps him firmly in contention as he looks for his first win of the season, having already recorded four top-10 finishes this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bhatia, meanwhile, appeared set for a top-10 position before a costly mistake on the final hole. Standing at 3-under through 17 holes, he found water off the tee on the 18th, leading to a bogey that pushed him back into a tie for 15th.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
At the top of the leaderboard, Young produced a bogey-free round highlighted by precise iron play and a hot putter, rolling in several lengthy birdie putts. He holds a one-shot advantage over Jordan Spieth and Alex Smalley, both at 7-under. Spieth\u2019s round featured an eagle on the par-5 eighth, offsetting a couple of back-nine bogeys.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had a mixed day, starting brightly with three early birdies before slipping back with consecutive bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes to finish at 1-under.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
At the top of the leaderboard, Young produced a bogey-free round highlighted by precise iron play and a hot putter, rolling in several lengthy birdie putts. He holds a one-shot advantage over Jordan Spieth and Alex Smalley, both at 7-under. Spieth\u2019s round featured an eagle on the par-5 eighth, offsetting a couple of back-nine bogeys.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Theegala will tee off his second round on Friday alongside Taylor Pendrith as he aims to build on a promising start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n