Birdie barrage boosts Clark to Phoenix Open lead

Los Angeles: Wyndham Clark fired 10 birdies in a 10-under par 61 on Thursday to grab a two-shot lead over fellow American Billy Horschel in the US PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open. Amid the always raucous crowds at TPC Scottsdale, Clark teed off on 10 and rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the 12th. After another birdie at 13 he picked up three in a row at 15, 16 and 17. He strung another three together at the first, second and third — where he blasted out of a greenside bunker to five feet and made the putt — and birdied seven and eight for good measure. Clark seized the solo lead with a birdie at the par-three seventh, where he stuck his tee shot three feet from the pin, and made it a two-shot advantage with an 11-foot birdie putt at eight. “I hit a lot of fairways and I just gave myself a lot of looks and the putter was hot,” Clark said. A red-hot putter fueled Horschel, who had six birdies and an eagle in his eight-under 63. Horschel rolled in two birdie putts from outside 25 feet and one from 41 feet, along with a par-saving 45 footer. His eagle at the par-five third hole didn’t need that kind of putting aplomb after he landed his second shot five feet from the hole. JB Holmes used an eagle hole-in-one at the par-three third and eight birdies to overcome an early double-bogey and a bogey, his seven-under 64 putting him alone in third. He stormed home with three straight birdies, including a 25-footer at the 18th. “The first five holes were up there, quite a bit of a roller-coaster,” said Holmes, who had the ace, one birdie, one par and one double-bogey through five. Holmes, seeking a third win in the Arizona desert, has played with elbow trouble for years and said he improved mid-round after attention from his trainer around the ninth and 10th holes.— AFP