WILMINGTON, N. Carolina — Francesco Molinari birdied his final hole to grab the early lead at the Wells Fargo Championship as world No. 1 Dustin Johnson had a solid round in his return from a back injury.
Italy’s Molinari chipped in from the rough on No. 18 for his eighth birdie of the day to open with a six-under 66 at the Eagle Point golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Sweden’s Alex Noren, and Americans JB Holmes, Grayson Murray and Brian Campbell were tied for second after shooting 67s.
Ken Duke, Ben Martin and Northern Ireland’s Seamus Power fired four-under 68s and are two strokes back of Molinari.
The 34-year-old Molinari is seeking his first victory on the US PGA Tour. This is his 99th start since turning pro in 2004.
He has won four times on the European Tour including the Italian Open in 2006 and 2016. He also captured the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions event in 2010 by beating Lee Westwood by one stroke.
Johnson shot a two-under 70 Thursday in a round that included four birdies, 12 pars and two bogeys.
His best stretch was back-to-back birdies on his front nine which comprised the par-three 15th and the par-four 16th holes.
On No. 15, his 200-yard tee shot rolled down a slope towards the hole leaving him with a nine-foot putt for birdie.
This is Johnson’s first tournament since withdrawing from the Masters after injuring his back on the eve of the first major of the season.
He slipped and fell down a flight of stairs at a rental house in Augusta on the night before the tournament.
The 32-year-old American, who defends his first major title at next month’s US Open, is aiming to stretch a winning streak that has seen him capture his past three PGA starts.
Ko wins opener
World No. 1 Lydia Ko beat hometown favorite Ana Menendez 3 & 2 Thursday to launch her campaign at the LPGA Lorena Ochoa Match Play, where Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn set up a second-round sister duel.
New Zealand’s Ko, who was forced out of last week’s Texas Shootout with an eye infection, was the first winner of the day in the tournament that switched this year from its former stroke play format.
She seized the lead with a birdie at the par-five second, and was able to take advantage of some miscues by Menendez — who won two holes with birdies but never got ahead.
Ko won the 14th with a par to go 3-up and sealed the win when they halved the 16th with birdies.
Ariya Jutanugarn, the top seed in her bracket, advanced with a 5 & 4 win over Amy Anderson while eighth-seeded Moriya beat Alana Sharp 2 & 1.
The Thai sisters were paired together in the final round of the Texas Shootout, but Ariya said they had faced each other in match play only once, in an amateur event in Canada.
Belgium’s Laura Gonzalez Escallon, the 16th seed in her bracket, notched the biggest upset of the day — a 2 & 1 victory over two-time major champion Chun In-gee of South Korea.
Gonzalez Escallon won four holes with birdies, including the winning putt on the 17th.
England’s Charley Hull overcame a fainting spell and a two-hour delay because of lightning to post a gritty 2 & 1 victory over American Nelly Korda. — Agencies
