Hunter Eichhorn
Hunter Eichhorn opened with a bogey-free, 9-under 62, highlighted by eagles at the par-4 fourth and par-5 14th, to lead in the opening round at the Suncoast Classic golf championship, which was suspended due to darkness.
It was quite a turnaround for Eichhorn, who had missed the cut as an open qualifier at his only previous start in the event last year.
Eichhorn already boasts four top-10s in seven starts this season, tied for the most top-10s on the Korn Ferry Tour with Ian Gilligan.
Jay Card trails Eichhorn by just one stroke, after he birdied five of his final six holes to card a bogey-free 8-under 63.
Florida native Nick Gabrelcik is tied third at 6-under with five others including Trace Crow, Harry Higgs, Jackson Buchanon, Chad Sewell and Alvaro Ortiz.
Hayden Buckley winner of the 2021 Suncoast Classic, opened in 5-under 66 to be tied ninth.
Hubbard leads in Texas
Mark Hubbard converted his sixth birdie over his final eight holes to post a 7-under 65 at dark for one-shot lead in the storm-delayed opening round at the Valero Texas.
Hubbard broke out of six-way tie for the lead with his flurry of birdies. The ight birdies are tied with Will Zalatoris (T7/-5) and Adam Schenk (T15/-4) for the most in the round
Hubbard will be looking to maintain his fine form this week after an underwhelming star to the season. In nine starts this season, has only one top-25 finis, a T23 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.·
Tony Finau, Davis Thompson, Robert Macintyre, Steven Fisk and Andrew Putnam are all in the chasing pack, just one stroke behind.
MacIntyre and Fisk were two of eight players bogey free in the first round.
Making his third appearance in the Valero Texas Open Tommy Fleetwood, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4. He is within striking distance after carding a 5-under round.
Meanwhile, Austin Smotherman (T15/-4) aced the 220-yard par-3 13th with a 6-iron, his first hole-in-one in his 86th PGA Tour start.
Past champions Jimmy Walker (2015) and J.J. Spaun (2022) are at 3-under while while Charley Hoffman (2016) is at one-under with 13-time PGA Tour winner and 2021 champion Jordan Spieth.
Defending champipn Brian Harman could only must an even par round.
Leaderboard (Suncoast Classic)
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| 1 | Hunter Eichhorn | 62 (-9) |
| 2 | Jay Card III | 63 (-8) |
| T3 | Five Players Tied | 65 (-6) |
PARTIAL First-Round Leaderboard (Texas Open)
| Pos. | Player | R1 |
| 1 | Mark Hubbard | 65 (-7) |
| T2 | Tony Finau | 66 (-6) |
| T2 | Davis Thompson | 66 (-6) |
| T2 | Andrew Putnam | 66 (-6) |
| T2 | Robert MacIntyre | 66 (-6) |
| T2 | Steven Fisk | 66 (-6) |
