Golf roundup: Spieth and Palmer tied for lead in Zurich Classic team event

Jordan Spieth showed off his stellar short game. Ryan Palmer contributed momentum-saving par putts. They turned out to be quite the team Thursday in the Zurich Classic, the first official team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years.

Spieth hit a bump-and-run from 100 feet to a front pin to set up birdie on the par-five 11th, chipped in for birdie on the 14th and closed out their foursomes round with a 15-foot birdie for a six-under 66 to share the lead with 18-year-old Ryan Ruffels and Kyle Stanley.

Nick Watney made a 60-foot eagle putt from well off the green at the par-five 18th as he and Charley Hoffman were among four teams at 67.

Even in the tough alternate-shot format, benign conditions at the TPC Louisiana allowed for good scoring with 43 of the 80 teams breaking par, and 18 teams in the 60s.

“Alternate-shot format with these conditions, anything three under or so was a solid score,” Spieth said. “Grab a few extra and be in pole position, it’s fantastic. We’re just going to try and have as much fun as we had today.”

The partnership of Spieth and Palmer, close friends who live in Dallas, took root late last year when Palmer’s caddie, James Edmondson, said they would have to play together if Edmondson beat Spieth in a friendly match. He got Spieth on the last hole, and Spieth decided to add the Zurich Classic to his schedule.

Spieth said his partner didn’t miss a shot over the first 10 holes, and Palmer pitched in with key putts. They hit only two of the last seven greens in regulation and still played that stretch in three under par.

“It’s great watching his short game,” Palmer said. “It’s one of the best in the world. And when the putter is rolling, it makes it not has hard to make those five-footers. We both had our fair share, and we poured them in.”

Palmer made a six-foot par putt on the 13th hole and, after Spieth chipped in on the 14th, Palmer made a 12-foot par putt on the 15th.

Ruffels, who turns 19 on Saturday, was an amateur in Australia when he played with Stanley at the Australian Masters. They got along well, are now represented by the same management firm and decided to play together in New Orleans.

Some teams getting most of the attention didn’t fare too well.

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, the gold and silver medalists at the Olympics last summer in Rio, played the par-five holes in two over and opened with a 72. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler, who have a corporate relationship with Zurich, could only manage a 71.

The cut will be made after Friday fourballs to the top 35 teams and ties. The winners will each get credit for a PGA Tour victory, just as it was in 1981 at the Walt Disney World National Team Championship in 1981, the most recent official team event.

Brian Stuard, who won the Zurich Classic last year on his own, has Chris Stroud as a teammate. They had a chance to tie for the lead on their final hole, the par-three ninth, until Stuard hit into the water. He made a 20-foot putt to at least escape with bogey and a 68.

Also at 68 were Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, a pair of 50-year-olds from Wisconsin who still have full PGA Tour status. They also had a chance to join the leaders until Kelly missed a three-foot par putt on the 17th.

Brooks Koepka and his younger brother, Chase, who received a sponsor exemption, were among those at 69.

Levy’s 63 leads at China Open

Alexander Levy shot a nine-under 63 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the China Open.

The Frenchman, who won the China Open in 2014, carded nine birdies in a bogey-free round at the Topwin Golf and Country Club in Beijing to finish one stroke ahead of Pablo Larrazabal.

Peter Hanson and James Morrison both shot 67 and were tied at five under with Raphael Jacquelin, Dean Burmester and George Coetzee. Jorge Campillo and Yi Cao were among a group of golfers a further shot back.

Bernd Wiesberger, who won last week’s Shenzhen International, was six strokes off the pace after a 69, tied at three under with defending champion Li Haotong.