Weather: Mostly sunny. High of 84. Wind WNW 10-15 mph.
Suspension: The first round was suspended at 5:48 p.m. local time (MT) due to darkness and will resume Friday at 7:20 a.m. with four players yet to complete their round. The second round will begin as scheduled with tee times from 6:30 a.m. - 12:44 p.m. in groups of three off Nos. 1 and 10.
First-Round Leaderboard
1
Chris Kirk
63
(-9)
T2
Nick Dunlap
64
(-8)
T2
Zac Blair
64
(-8)
T4
Five players tied
65
(-7)
Chris Kirk (1st/-9)
Opens with a bogey-free 9-under 63, one-stroke shy of matching his career-low round on Tour (low: 62, three times, most recently at 2023 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches/R2)
63 matches his low round of the season (Bank of Utah Championship/R2/finished T21)
Positioned to secure his ninth 18-hole lead/co-lead on Tour in his 399th career start; 0-for-8 converting to victory
Marks first 18-hole lead/co-lead on Tour since the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship (finished T50)
Held the 18-hole lead at the 2016 World Wide Technology Championship at El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba
Making eighth start at World Wide Technology Championship (best: T7/2016) and second at El Cardonal at Diamante (MC/2023)
Has three top-10 finishes in 22 starts this season, including two in his last three (T10/Biltmore Championship Asheville,
T6/Butterfield Bermuda Championship)
Six-time PGA Tour winner’s most recent victory came at the 2024 Sentry
Entered the week No. 110 in the FedExCup Fall standings
First-Round Notes
A year after matching the World Wide Technology Championship 18-hole scoring record with a first-round 61, Nick Dunlap (T2/-8) opens with an 8-under 64; the 2024 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year sits No. 165 in FedExCup Fall standings after just 10 made cuts in 22 starts, highlighted by a T17 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with teammate Gordon Sargent
Zac Blair (T2/-8) cards a bogey-free 64, including four birdies across his final five holes (Nos. 14-15, 17-18); No. 121 in the FedExCup Fall standings, owns six top-25 finishes in 17 starts this season, including two in the FedExCup Fall (T21/Bank of Utah Championship, T25/Butterfield Bermuda Championship)
Making his second start at the event after finishing T31 last year, France’s Matthieu Pavon (T4/-7) opens with a first-round 65 for the second straight week on Tour (VidantaWorld Mexico Open/finished T11); seeks his first top-10 finish of the season in his 25th start this year (best: T11, two times; Valspar Championship, VidantaWorld Mexico Open)
PGA Tour rookie Kensei Hirata (T4/-7) opens with a 65, his third consecutive start with a first-round score of 65 or better (63/VidantaWorld Mexico Open/finished T11, 65/Butterfield Bermuda Championship/finished T34)
Sponsor exemption Taylor Montgomery (T4/-7) hit 14-of-14 fairways and leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (4.985), en route to his best 18-hole score on Tour since the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship (63/R2)
Ryan Gerard (T9/-6), the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 23 in the Official World Golf Ranking, opens with a 6-under 66; making his third appearance in the World Wide Technology Championship (T14/2024, MC/2023)
World Wide Technology Championship ambassador Ben Griffin (T70/-2) seeks to become the second player with multiple wins at the event (Viktor Hovland: 2020, 2021) and first at El Cardonal at Diamante
First-round scores from the three players from Mexico in the field:
Guadalajara, Mexico native and 2027 PGA Tour rookie Alvaro Ortiz (T46/-3)
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