Dunne finishes atop delayed first round in Houston

Ireland’s Paul Dunne birdied four of his final seven holes, including Nos. 16 and 17 after play resumed Friday, to finish the first round of the Houston Open with a one-shot lead.

Beau Hossler, who also completed his first round on Friday morning, finished at 7 under par along with Lucas Glover and Kevin Tway, who finished their opening-round 65s on Thursday. The second round at the Golf Club of Houston began as scheduled later Friday morning.

Sam Ryder held the overnight lead at 8-under, but the PGA Tour rookie was unable to maintain his momentum on Friday morning, going 2-over through his final three holes to complete his first round at 6-under.

The Houston Open is the final tournament before next week’s Masters, and it features several of the world’s top players seeking to find their peak form heading into Augusta.

World No. 4 Jordan Spieth, who was eliminated during group play at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event last week, shot a 4-under 68 during the morning wave Thursday. His score was equaled by England’s Justin Rose (No. 5), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (No. 15) and Phil Mickelson (No. 18).

Korea’s Sung Kang, who tied the course record with a 63 in the second round last year and broke the 36-hole record at 16-under, withdrew on Friday for an undisclosed reason.

–Field Level Media