RICO Hoey shot a 4-under-par 66 while Justin Quiban, making his debut on the PGA Tour, scored a 2-over-par 72 as they shot contrasting scores on Thursday at the Rocket Classic, marking the first time that two Filipinos are entered together in the world’s toughest tour.
Hoey, 30, who is the more polished of the two, being a regular on the circuit for the past three years with two runner-up finishes, had an eagle on the par 5 14th to highlight his opening round.
READ Rico Hoey posts best finish of PGA Tour season
He also had four birdies but two bogeys marred his round and placed him in a tie for 13th place.
Quiban, who got into the tournament via Monday Qualifying, had a relatively good round going, even par for 16 holes, but two closing bogeys ruined his first round on tour.
That dropped him into a tie for 112th spot and would need a strong second round to make the cut.
Peter Malnati leads the tournament after shooting 9-under-par 61, two shots better than the field as the PGA Tour prepares to move into the playoffs.
Malnati scored nine birdies, seven birdies on the front nine, in his bogey-free round at the new-look Detroit Golf Club which underwent a major renovation, including converting two par-5 holes into par 4s.
Tied in second spot were Rickie Fowler and Ryan Gerard who each fired a 63 while another shot back were Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Fishburn.
Thitikul leads AIG Women’s Open; Saso ties for 37th
Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul made it look easy, shooting a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 to lead the 2026 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes by two strokes after the opening round on Thursday.
The event is the last major of the year in the LPGA Tour and Thitikul appears bent on winning her first by coming out hot with three straight birdies from the fourth hole.
Then she added one on the eighth and sizzled some more on the back nine with birdies on 11th, 13th and 15th, to overcome Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki who had the led the morning wave with 5-under-par 66s.
Ryu is seeking her third straight major championship after winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Amundi Evian Championship back-to-back.
American Yealimi Noh and France’s Celine Boutier were tied for fourth place on four-under-par.
Boutier was bogey-free after making an eagle on the sixth hole and birdies on nine and 13 for her 67 (-4).
Meanwhile, Yuka Saso shot a 1-over-par 72 and was tied for 37th place as she battles to regain her form in a lackluster season where she has missed the cut eight times in 15 starts.
This is a relatively fine start for the Filipina-Japanese who had two birdies and three bogeys in her modest round.
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