PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – A trio of golfers lead at 6-under after the first round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Past TOUR winner Matt Jones, Joel Dahmen, and Paul Dunne all shot matching 66’s on a windy Thursday at Corales Golf Club. Jones, who won the 2014 Shell Houston Open in a playoff over Matt Kuchar, said his 6-under was “probably the worse scoreâ€� he could have shot. Teeing off early, the wind was down and the course was more scoreable than it was later in the day. That didn’t stop Dahmen and Dunne from posting solid numbers. Jones said his iron game and distance control were the keys to his success Thursday. The Australian finished T-28 here a year ago, and is in the midst of one of his more solid PGA TOUR seasons in recent memory. He’s made his last five cuts in a row, and has notched two T-13 finishes, tied for his best results of the season. The 38-year-old held off Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott to capture the Australian Open on his childhood course in 2015, and although he said he rarely thinks about that victory, the good memories are there if he needs them this week. “That’s a long time ago and I’ve got a lot of war wounds since then out here on this Tour,â€� he admitted. “But if I get in that position again with a chance to win, I’ll probably lean on that experience.â€� Dahmen, meanwhile, came into the week having made his last two cuts – after a run of four-straight misses – including a T-13 at THE PLAYERS Championship. He said his season has been “better than it looks on paper,â€� as his Thursday 66 was his best round since a matching 66 at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. “At THE PLAYERS I was close, just a couple bogeys on the back nine that really could have had me in the hunt there,â€� said Dahmen, whose usual caddie is at home with a week off before a busy stretch. “Leading up to the first round last week, my game’s close and hopefully we can keep it going through three more rounds.â€� The last time Dahmen held a piece of a first-round lead was at the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but he went on to finish T-48. He drained a 23-foot birdie try on the par-3 9th – his final hole of the day – to get to 6-under, and the 2014 Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year said he wouldn’t be changing his approach for Friday. “I’m not a range rat as it is,â€� said Dahmen. “So we’re going to have a cold beer, put the feet up and just enjoy this place.â€� Rounding out the threesome at the top is Irishman Paul Dunne, who finished T-5 in Punta Cana in 2018 and managed to parlay that top-10 result into a T-8 at the Houston Open the following week. He also played The Open Championship and the PGA Championship last year, but this week marks his first start at a PGA TOUR event since last August. He’s played six European Tour events so far this year, finishing third at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth. “It’s been fairly average,â€� Dunne said of his year. “Things are starting to get better, I’m starting to get back in the swing of tournaments. “It’s nice to fill the gap there with a great event and hopefully I can make the most of it.â€� Dunne, who got a Sponsor Exemption this week, was 1-under through his first nine holes, but turned it on late. He played his second nine (the front) in 5-under. He said he was feeling some good vibes from last year early on. “I feel comfortable here,â€� said Dunne. “The couple of loose tee shots I normally hit in a round I can get away with here, so play to my strength a little bit. The breeze blowing for the week is nice, we’re used to that.â€� Sungjae Im, who has finished in the top-5 in two of his last three tournaments and is the top-ranked golfer in the FedExCup standings in the field this week, is one shot back of the leaders at 5-under. Sam Burns, who won on the Web.com Tour exactly a year ago this week, leads a group of six golfers at 4-under, rounding out the top-10.
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