No. 23: Jhonattan Vegas

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Russell Knox recorded four straight birdies on the back nine and fired a 7-under 65 on Thursday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Valero Texas Open. RELATED: Leaderboard | Top 10 Valero Texas Opens Knox closed out his round with a seven-foot putt to save par at the par-5 18th at TPC San Antonio, and was one shot ahead of Rasmus Hojgaard. Hojgaard fired a 66 despite a double bogey on his final hole. Matt Kuchar is another stroke back after an opening 5-under 67 and is among a group that includes Denny McCarthy, Aaron Rei and J.J. Spaun. Defending champion Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy finished at even-par 72. They were outside the top 60 after one round and could flirt with the cut line on Friday. Bryson DeChambeau had a 1-over 73. After holing a bunker shot for eagle on his 11th hole and following with a birdie on the next, he made bogey on four of his last six holes. Knox, a 32-year-old Scotsman with two career PGA TOUR wins, started his birdie streak at No. 12. All of his birdie putts were inside 10 feet. At the 15th, he was about 20 feet away from a back pin position following his approach and chipped in from the fringe. It was his second chip-in in the round. “That was one of those kind of bonus birdies that you need when you’re going to have a good day,” Knox said. “Obviously thrilled with the round. It’s been more of the way I want to play.” Hogjaard, a 21-year-old from Denmark and two-rime winner on the DP World Tour, had his sights on the first-round lead heading to his closing hole. But, his drive sailed well left of the fairway. It took him four shots to reach the green on the par-4 ninth. “I had to chip sideways back into the fairway,” he said. “Just was a little too aggressive after that. Yeah, short-sided myself and I didn’t get up and down and suddenly you walk away with double-bogey. Yeah, that was a bit annoying, but it happens.” Kuchar was 5 under after 11 holes. Thirty feet away from the pin on the next hole, he failed to get up and down and missed a seven-foot putt for par. He got a shot back with a birdie on his 14th hole, and parred out, falling short in a bid to match his season-best round of 64 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he finished in the top 10. “A lot of good and bad that can happen here on this course,” Kuchar said. “I was kind of managing early on in the round and then found a little something on about the fifth or sixth hole. I started having some birdie chances and converted on a few late in my first nine.” Kuchar has won nine times on the PGA TOUR. McCarthy, Rai and Spaun are looking for their first.

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THE OVERVIEW By Cameron Morfit, PGATOUR.COM If you think of the stars of the game as actual stars, or planets, the orange-loving Fowler would be the sun — that universally revered energy source around which everything else revolves. The Golf Boys video? Yeah, Fowler was in that. The Spring Break trips with Smylie Kaufman, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas? Yeah, Fowler was part of those, too. When Brooks Koepka came back to South Florida in between early-career adventures in Europe, he sharpened up with matches against Fowler. Ditto for Tiger Woods as he recuperated from back fusion surgery. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule Still, the planets have not always been in perfect harmony. Although Fowler, 28, got his fourth career win at The Honda Classic last season, he had nine other top-10s and wondered if he might have won more. He led the U.S. Open at Erin Hills after shooting a 7-under 65 in the first round but faded to a T5 finish. (In 32 major starts, he has seven top-five finishes, no wins.) Then came the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December, and Fowler’s course-record 61 in the final round. He started with seven straight birdies, shot 28 on the front nine, and won by four over Charley Hoffman. What on earth had gotten into Rickie? There was no telling, at least not until afterward. That’s when he said of pal Woods, “I think he sharpened me up a little bit.â€�   Uh, yeah. You could say that. It was the type of foot-on-the-gas performance that recalled Fowler’s victory at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2015, and fans were riveted. So were his fellow players. “To start out with seven in a row—it’s different if you play a few holes and get loosened up and then start birdieing,â€� said Fowler’s friend Bubba Watson. “But he came right out of the gate.â€� If that version of Fowler comes out of the gate in 2018, then no trophy is safe. BY THE NUMBERS How Rickie Fowler ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 16th Playoff appearances: 8 TOUR Championship appearances: 4 Best result: 4th (2015) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Rickie Fowler in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Ben Everill Time for a bold prediction of sorts. Rickie Fowler is about to bust out of the shadows of his friends and reach the potential he’s always shown. With just four PGA TOUR wins and multiple near-misses, the time has come for Fowler to finally cash in like he did at the Hero World Challenge. His journey reminds me heavily of Jason Day – near-misses in big events have steeled him and when he crosses the threshold, he will be a tornado to be reckoned with.  Click here to follow Ben on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton The day after the No. 2 in the all-around ranking in 2016-17 (Jon Rahm) is featured, we slide up to the 29-year-old who led the PGA TOUR in the category. When he finally captures his first major title, the rest of the world will see what we’ve known for years — that Fowler is simply a beast that his flare and personality accentuates, not distorts in this age of the short attention span. The fact that he has but four wins in eight full seasons on TOUR bumps him to second-round status in the stingiest of draft leagues, but he’s not even close to his career peak yet. The only upset is that he didn’t crack the top five in our series. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Fowler’s dramatic come-from-behind win at the Hero World Challenge coincided with a move to Cobra’s new King F8+ woods. Cut down his driver shaft to 43.5 inches to gain additional accuracy. King Forged MB irons have tungsten slugs in each head to boost forgiveness and dial-in the center of gravity position. Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter was originally reserved for Tiger Woods. During a trip to Cameron’s studio, Fowler picked up the putter and had it built to his specifications.  Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Nobody moves the fashion needle quite like Rickie. He isn’t afraid to shake up the golf apparel world by infusing current streetwear trends into his looks. Besides the new Puma “Pâ€� hat he rocked during his win at the Hero World Challenge, expect him to sport electric blues, lemon yellows, and of course, his signature orange in 2018. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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