Viktor Hovland starts well in defence of World Wide Technology Championship, Scottie Scheffler well placed

Viktor Hovland made an impressive start to the defence of the World Wide Technology Championship, as he chases a hat-trick of wins in the event.

Hat-tricks in golf are extremely rare, with Steve Stricker the latest player to win an event three years in succession when landing the John Deere Classic in 2011.

On an El Camaleon course he is extremely comfortable on, Hovland cruised round in 65 to get to six-under after 18 holes.

While it was an impressive round that included six birdies and an eagle, it could have been better as there were two bogeys on the card.

Hovland is sat on the same score as Scottie Scheffler who produced a bogey-free round of 65.

Iron and approach play are strengths of Scheffler’s game, and they were dialled in on Thursday.

Any player who does not shoot a score beginning with a six will be losing ground on the field in friendly conditions.

At one point on Thursday there was the prospect of the leading score beginning with a five, as Will Gordon got to nine-under after 13 holes to prompt talk of a 59.

But he went cold over the final five holes, meaning Gordon signed for a 62 to miss out on the course record set by Matthew Wolff (2021) and Roland Thatcher 2008 (2008) by a single shot.

First Round Leaderboard

• 1. Will Gordon, nine-under
• 2. Russell Henley, eight-under
• T3. Scott Piercy, seven-under
• T3. Francesco Molinari, seven-under
• T5. David Lingmerth, six-under
• T5. Martin Laird, six-under
• T5. Scottie Scheffler, six-under
• T5. Viktor Hovland, six-under
• T5. Patton Kizzire, six-under
• T5. Joseph Bramlett, six-under

Gordon entered the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead over Russell Henley, while there was a welcome return to form for Francesco Molinari.

In what is a Ryder Cup season in his native Italy, Molinari showed flashes of the quality that made him a major champion in 2018.

He is chasing a first win since 2019, and started well in Mayakoba with a round of 64, one shot better than David Lingmerth of Sweden and Martin Laird of Scotland.

Danny Willett and Matt Wallace are among the later starters on Thursday.