Carl Pettersson rebounded from missed cuts in his past two USPGA Tour starts by charging into an early tie for the lead in Thursday’s weather-hit opening round of the Houston Open in Humble, Texas.
The 34-year-old Swede, putting superbly on the slick greens at Redstone Golf Club, birdied five of his first eight holes on the way to a seven-under 65 in the final tuneup event before next week’s Masters.
Pettersson, a four-time champion on the US circuit, briefly got to eight-under, but bogeyed the par-four 17th before finishing level with long-hitting Angel Cabrera of Argentina.
Americans Ricky Barnes and Jeff Maggert were a further stroke back after opening with matching 66s before play was suspended at 2:27pm because of the threat of lightning in the area.
More than 2.5cm of rain saturated the course during the afternoon and organizers later abandoned play for the day with only 51 players having completed the opening round.
Among those who did not finish or start their first round were defending champion Phil Mickelson, three-time major winner Ernie Els and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.
Pettersson, who reached the turn in five-under 31, was delighted with his score after missing successive cuts at the Transitions Championship and last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“I got off to a great start ... kept it going and got it to eight-under,” the Swede told reporters after mixing eight birdies with a lone bogey. “It was a little disappointing bogeying 17, but I gave myself a great chance on 18 and didn’t make it. I’m happy with seven-under. I played really good ... solid from the tee, hit good irons and putted really well.”
Asked what had made the difference following his two missed cuts, Pettersson said: “I changed my setup. I opened up my stance and enabled my left hip to really fire through the ball. I play my best when my club really exits left through the ball.”
“I felt like I was striking the ball well again and I told myself this morning just to play aggressive, shoot at the pins and see what happens. Hopefully I can get on a roll here,” he added.
Pettersson, who won the most recent of his USPGA Tour titles at the 2010 Canadian Open, made the most of relatively calm conditions at Redstone before the thunderstorm swept across the course later in the day.
British world No. 3 Lee Westwood and fifth-ranked American Steve Stricker each carded 68s, while US Ryder Cup player Hunter Mahan opened with a 69.
Three-time Masters champion Mickelson, who won last year’s Houston Open by three shots after closing with a sizzling seven-under 65, was one-under after three holes when play was suspended for the day.
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