Knox shoots 65 for Mayakoba lead, Koepka further back

Russell Knox earned a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.

Scottish golfer Knox carded a six-under-par 65 to set the early pace at El Camaleon Golf Club on Thursday.

Knox only dropped one shot on day one of the PGA Tour tournament, holing seven birdies to top the leaderboard ahead of Joaquin Niemann, Emiliano Grillo – who extended his streak of par-or-better rounds in the event to a perfect 17-for-17 – and Tom Hoge.

A two-time Tour champion but without a title since 2016, Knox has claimed just two over-par scores in 29 rounds at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.

Russell Knox takes the solo lead @MayakobaGolf. 1. @RooKnox -6 T2. @CarlosOrtizGolf -5 T2. @JoacoNiemann T2. @HogeGolf T2. @GrilloEmiliano

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 3, 2020

In his seven previous starts at the event, Knox claimed top-10 finishes in 2015 (tied for second), 2016 (T3) and 2017 (T9), while the most recent of his two 18-hole leads/co-leads before this week came via this season's Safeway Open (T9).

Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, Carlos Ortiz, defending champion Brendon Todd, Aaron Wise, Nate Lashley, Akshay Bhatia and Michael Gligic are two shots off the pace.

In his first start since claiming his maiden Tour title at the Houston Open, Ortiz posted his 16th consecutive round of par-or-better this season.

Rickie Fowler ended the round one under par, four-time major champion Brooks Koepka posted a 71 to be six shots behind Knox heading into the second day, while Justin Thomas was a stroke worse off.