Taylor Pendrith leads by one at Rocket Mortgage Classic

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 Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM For a fair chunk of Sunday at The Open Championship, it appeared Matt Kuchar was going to join the list of major champions. But as history shows, a late turnaround and blitz from Jordan Spieth snatched that dream away from the man they call ‘Kuch.’ So now this season becomes a very interesting one for the seven-time PGA TOUR winner, whose resume includes a signature win at the 2012 PLAYERS Championship. Kuchar will turn 40 in June and is coming off a season with nine top-10s. He has made the TOUR Championship the last eight seasons, finishing inside the top 20 of the FedExCup every year since he was runner up in 2010. He’s 11 of 11 when it comes to making the FedExCup Playoffs. Will he continue to be a factor against the greater depth and youth on TOUR or will things start to get harder for the smiling assassin? Statistically he remains far above average. Inside the top 70 in all Strokes Gained categories last season, including 16th overall. While he continues to putt well and drive the ball accurately, any perceived loss in distance will be overcome. Consistency has always been a hallmark of Kuchar’s game. Now he needs to take it to another level in the big weeks. Not much has to change – his game was good enough last season to finish inside the top-16 of all four majors, inside the top 5 in two of them – but after getting so close at Royal Birkdale last year, perhaps Kuchar will now turn disappointment into major victory. Click here to follow Ben on Twitter BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 107th Playoff appearances: 11 TOUR Championship appearances: 8 Best result: 2nd (2010) INSIGHTS FROM OUR INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Matt Kuchar in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit The remarkably consistent Kuchar shows no signs of slowing down even at 39. Last season he was again deadly accurate off the tee (66 percent, ranking him 31st on TOUR), putted better than average, and registered his career-best finish in a major with an unforgettable runner-up to Jordan Spieth at the Open Championship. Kuchar has made every U.S. Presidents and Ryder Cup team since 2010, and will most likely keep on doing so for the foreseeable future, but whether this seven-time TOUR winner will finally add a major title to his resume remains an open question. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton Just when you think that Father Time is applying pressure, he hangs up another quality performance. You want reliability? You got it. He’s competed in eight consecutive TOUR Championships. You want durability? Sure. Since 2011, he’s averaged more than 24 starts per season and hasn’t withdrawn during any. Quite simply, he’s an easy late first-rounder because he knows who he is and we know what he delivers. It’s hard to believe that the big 4-0 lingers on June 21, 2018, but it had to arrive at some point, it’s just that it won’t matter. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Kuchar has anywhere from six to seven different equipment brands in the bag. Scaled back the amount of forward press in his stroke, which required Bettinardi to make a new KM2 D.A.A.S. putter with new loft and offset specs (5 degrees of loft and 1 shaft worth of offset). Currently carries three different wedge brands (Bridgestone, Callaway and Cleveland). Began using a new Bridgestone Tour B XS golf ball at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Kuchar is a case study in how simple style tweaks can make a big impact. During the past couple of years, he has ditched the pleats and the mismatched hats and moved to flat front trousers and exotic skin belts. As a result, his looks are cleaner and more modern. The last piece of the fashion puzzle for Kuch is slimmer fitting shirts. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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