Golf: Jimmy Walker shot a nine-under-par 63 to lead after the first round of the Shell Houston Open. The 32-year-old American had nine birdies in a flawless round which matched the course record, as he developed a two-stroke advantage at the top of the leaderboard.
Walker has had two fourth-placed finishes in 2011 and stands 26th on the money list, but is still seeking his first PGA Tour title. Australian Nick O'Hern and American Josh Teater shared second place at Redstone Golf Club after bogey-free 65s.
A dropped shot at the par-four 18th, his first of the round, meant Chris Kirk fell to six under, which he occupied alone, and thereafter the leaderboard became tightly packed.
Steve Stricker stood in a four-way share of fifth place after signing for a 67, alongside fellow Americans John Rollins and Brendan Steele and Australian Nathan Greene.
Britain's Lee Westwood, who will climb back to number one in the world if he finishes in the top two this week, had a mixed start to his round but had five birdies on the back nine as he completed a four-under 68.
Ireland's Pádraig Harrington was on the same mark, while Phil Mickelson, playing in the same group as Westwood and preparing to defend his Masters title next week, had a two-under 70.
Italy's Francesco Molinari was three under, while England's Ross Fisher and Brian Davis shot rounds of 71, as did German Alex Cejka and South Africa's former Masters runner-up Ernie Els.
European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal had a day to forget, carding a 77, but it was worse for Australian Steven Bowditch who had two double bogeys and a quadruple-bogey eight in the space of four holes as he reached the turn in 10 over par.
He managed to complete the back nine in level par but was set for a clear weekend.
Collated first round scores in the USPGA Tour Shell Houston Open, Redstone GC, Humble, Texas, United States of America
(USA unless stated, par 72):
63Jimmy Walker
65Nick O'Hern (Aus), Josh Teater
66Chris Kirk
67Brendan Steele, Steve Stricker, Nathan Green (Aus), John Rollins
68Brendon De Jonge, Bill Lunde, Robert Garrigus, Vaughn Taylor, Zack Miller, Steve Elkington (Aus), Jarrod Lyle (Aus), Robert Allenby (Aus), Marc Turnesa, Tommy Gainey, Lee Westwood (Eng), Pádraig Harrington (Irl)
69Francesco Molinari (Ita), Kris Blanks, Nate Smith, Billy Mayfair, David Hearn (Can), Alex Prugh, Charles Howell III, Marc Leishman (Aus), Cameron Beckman, Brandt Jobe, Ryuji Imada (Jpn), Johnson Wagner
70Ben Curtis, Matthew Jones (Aus), Ben Crane, Tim Petrovic, David Mathis, Kevin Kisner, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Kyle Stanley, Erik Compton, Michael Putnam, Greg Chalmers (Aus), William McGirt, Hunter Mahan, D.A. Points, Keegan Bradley, Phil Mickelson
71Michael Bradley, Ross Fisher (Eng), Scott Stallings, Jim Renner, Gary Woodland, Robert Karlsson (Swe), Chad Campbell, Joe Durant, Ernie Els (Rsa), Brian Davis (Eng), Scott Piercy, Angel Cabrera (Arg), Fabian Gomez (Arg), Fred Couples, Alex Cejka (Ger), Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Kevin Stadler, Paul Goydos, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Scott Gutschewski
72Charley Hoffman, Paul Stankowski, Blake Adams, Webb Simpson, Chez Reavie, Steve Marino, Boo Weekley, Andres Gonzales, Kent Jones, Tim Herron, John Senden (Aus), Martin Piller, Garrett Willis, Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Anthony Kim, Michael Thompson, Rich Beem, Troy Merritt
73Taylor Leon, Ryan Palmer, Ben Martin, Dean Wilson, Shaun Micheel, Billy Horschel, Joseph Bramlett, Shane Bertsch, Steve Flesch, Bobby Gates, Kevin Chappell, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), J J Henry, J.B. Holmes, Andres Romero (Arg), Jim Herman, Scott Verplank, Jhonattan Vegas
74Spencer Levin, Chris Riley, Harrison Frazar, James Driscoll, Bryce Molder, Scott Gordon, Daniel Summerhays, Charles Warren, Scott McCarron, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Davis Love III, Joe Ogilvie, Michael Connell, Jason Day (Aus), Charlie Wi (Kor), Jeff Maggert, DJ Brigman, Cameron Tringale, D.J. Trahan
75Peter Tomasulo, Pat Perez, Chris Stroud, Derek Lamely, Justin Leonard, Steve Dartnall, Chad Collins, Stuart Appleby (Aus)
76Will MacKenzie, Michael Letzig, Lonny Alexander, Matt Bettencourt
77Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Roland Thatcher, Lucas Glover, Y.E. Yang (Kor)
78Colt Knost
82Steven Bowditch (Aus)
WD: Jamie Lovemark 80, Tag Ridings 78
