Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai stutters after superb opening day in California

Rai shone in the sun on day one after being one of the late starters when he shot a superb eight-under 64 to tie for the first-round lead with Americans Sam Ryder and Brent Grant.

But he undid most of that good work on day two when he was among the first golfers to hit the course.

At the time of going to press he had dropped four shots in 12 holes to fall down to tied 13th in the standings.

Rai suffered bogeys at the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and 11th while picking up a solitary birdie at the sixth.

That was a far cry from how the 27-year-old started the event at Torrey Pines. He birded the Number 10 on the North Course of the San Diego venue, before collecting seven more birdies on a productive opening day.

World number three Jon Rahm, meanwhile, struggled to a one-over 73 on the South Course.

The Spaniard, who is trying for his third win in as many starts, made a double bogey on the par-four seventh hole and was continually left frustrated on the more challenging course.

None of the three leaders has won a Tour title, while Ryder is also coming off three straight missed cuts and rookie Grant’s last four rounds have been 74 or worse.

Speaking after his opening round, Rai – a former Wolverhampton Grammar School pupil – was pleased with his display, admitting it had been a “very good” round and start to the tournament.

“Really drove it great off the tee, which is probably the most important thing to at least give ourselves an opportunity with those approach shots,” he said, in comments carried by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“As soon as you miss the fairway here with anything more than a short iron (it) is very, very difficult.

“So that was key, drove it very well. Hit a lot of real good iron shots and made a few putts around the turn there, so all in all a very good round, very good start.”

Ryder indicated he had more to accomplish, telling PGA Tour: “You’re only as good as how you finish and there’s three more days of golf.”

Rahm will be looking to bounce back, after winning four of his last six events, including his last two starts on the PGA Tour at last week’s American Express and the season-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions.

The tournament is being held from Wednesday to Saturday to avoid a clash with the NFL’s AFC and NFC championship games on Sunday.