Charley Hoffman fired nine birdies in an eight-under par 64 Thursday to grab a one-shot lead after the first round of the Houston Open over a quartet of players that included Dustin Johnson. Hoffman's 64 was one stroke shy of the Tournament Course record at the Golf Club of Houston held by five players. He opened with a birdie at the 10th, and added birdies at 13 and 14 — adding a burst of four straight birdies from the first through fourth holes. "Hit it great," said Hoffman, who won the most recent of his three PGA Tour titles in 2014. "Hit a lot of fairways, hit a ton of greens, gave myself a bunch of chances and luckily enough a few went in today." Johnson, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, powered into contention with a 10-footer for eagle at his penultimate hole, the par-five eighth and a birdie at the last, where he holed a long one from the fringe. Johnson was tied for second with fellow Americans Roberto Castro, Scott Brown and Morgan Hoffmann. Another four Americans were tied on 66: Johnson Wagner, Justin Hicks, Chez Reavie and Scott Pinckney. "Overall, it was a great day," Johnson said after a round that included seven birdies total. "I made just two bogeys and one of them was a mud ball on five." "Then I had a penalty shot on the par-five 13th. Other than that, I felt like I played really solid today and holed some nice putts," he said. World No. 2 Jordan Spieth, trying to build momentum heading into his Masters title defence next week, carded a 67 that left him tied for 10th. Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson opened with a 69. Defending champion JB Holmes, who won last year in a playoff with Spieth and Wagner, withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. He was replaced in Thursday's group with Spieth and Patrick Reed by Luke List, who carded a 68. Munoz, Miyazato ahead Azahara Munoz burst out of a form slump at an opportune time and Ai Miyazato's renaissance continued at the ANA Inspiration Thursday as the pair shared the opening round lead in the first women's major of the year. Spain's Munoz and Japanese Miyazato each carded rounds of five-under-67 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California to share top spot, one clear of Scotland's Catriona Matthew, South African Lee-Anne Pace and Japan's Shiho Oyama. Munoz, who has failed to finish higher than 33rd this season and has not recorded an LPGA top 10 since August last year, carded six birdies but dropped back with a bogey on her final hole. "Obviously one round is not going to completely change my confidence but I am feeling good," Munoz told reporters. Miyazato, world No. 1 back in 2010, sat 157th in the rankings before finishing third last week at the Kia Classic. The 30-year-old opened with four birdies in her opening six holes and then tacked another onto her tally on the 18th to prove her improvement in form was not a false dawn. Ryann O'Toole, Gerina Piller and 2014 champion Lexi Thompson shared top American honours with three-under-69s to be tied for sixth, while world number one Lydia Ko rode a rollercoaster with four birdies and two bogeys in a round of 70. "I was striking my irons and everything pretty good but I didn't hit my driver very well especially on the back nine so I think that's where my bogeys kind of came from," Ko admitted after taking a share of 14th. Defending champion Brittany Lincicome settled for an even par 72. — Agencies
