Paul Waring
Forty-one-year-old Paul Waring opened with a bogey-free 7-under 63 to hold a one shot lead over Gary Woodland at the Houston Open golf championships.
It was a stirring display from the Englishman, whose display must have surprised him as much as the entire golfing fraternity.
The 2024 Abu Dhabi Championship winner has been underwhelming in since the start of 2025, missing the cut or having withdrawn in 17 of his 21 starts.
He has been nursing a shoulder injury and is only playing on a medical exemption. The remarkable first round sees him holding the lead for the first time on Tour. Last year, he had missed the cut in Houston after carding rounds of 76 and 72.
He had also missed the cut in all three starts this season, most recently last week at the Valspar Championship after carding 75-70 in his opening rounds.
Woodland equaled the best opening-round score of his career with a 64 to trail Waring by a stroke.
The trio of Sam Burns, Michael Brennan, and Tom Hoge are a further stroke behind after carding identical 5-under 65 rounds.
Houston native Cole Hammer aced the par-3 15th hole with a 9-iron from 136 yards, but trails with a three-under round in jpoint 11th spot.
Defending champion Lee Min Woo is at T31 after opening with a 2-under 68, He seeks to become only the second player to successfully defend a Houston Open title since Vijay Singh in 2005. He is tied with Chris Gotterup, who round was highlighted by a career-long 72-foot birdie on the par-4 18th hole, the longest made putt on any hole at the Houston Open.
Meanwhile, three of the four past Houston Open champions in the field sit T11 or better – Stephan Jaeger (T6/-4), Adam Scott (T11/-3), Tony Finau (T11/-3).
Pak cards career-low round
Meanwhile, at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, Johan Pak opened with a career-low 11-under 61 to better the previous 18-hole tournament scoring record of 62 set by Julián Etulian in 2020.
This will be his first 18-hole lead in the Korn Ferry Tour. Pak had finished T3 here in 2024 and leads Ian Gilligan b y one stroke.
Korn Ferry Tour winner Kevin Velo is tied third at eight-under with Hayden Springer.
First-Round Leaderboard (Houston Open)
| Pos. | Player | R1 |
| 1 | Paul Waring | 63 (-7) |
| 2 | Gary Woodland | 64 (-6) |
| T3 | Sam Burns | 65 (-5) |
| T3 | Michael Brennan | 65 (-5) |
| T3 | Tom Hoge | 65 (-5) |
First-Round Leaderboard (Club Car Championship)
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| 1 | John Pak | 61 (-11) |
| 2 | Ian Gilligan | 62 (-10) |
| T3 | Kevin Velo | 64 (-8) |
| Hayden Springer | 64 (-8) | |
| T5 | Five players tied | 65 (-7) |
