20 February 2020: The Puerto Rico Open got off to a sizzling start with several golfers making an ambitious score in the opening round on Thursday. Kyle Stanley made sure golf fans took their eyes off from the fancier WGC Mexico Championship with a scorching 64 for a two-stroke advantage over Peter Uihlein, Josh Teater, Emiliano Grillo, Chris Couch, Henrik Norlander and Rhein Gibson (6-under through 16). Anirban Lahiri started his day with a bogey on the first but made quick amends before ending the round with a final-hole birdie for a solid 70.
Arjun Atwal made four birdies in a patchy round that ended at one-over 73 as the veteran made a steady cocktail of bogeys and birdies. He too started the round with a bogey at the first before erasing the deficit with a birdie at the second. Back to back bogeys at 7 & 8 hurt Atwal and even though he made three birdies on the second nine, including one on the 18th, it was only enough to limit the damage to just one.
Anirban restricted his loss to just the bogey at the first hole. He made back to back birdies at the 4th and 5th holes before punctuating a run of twelve straight pars with a final flourish at the 18th hole for his 70.
Stanley made nine birdies during a spectacular opening round to steal the limelight straight out of the gates. He made four birdies in the first five holes.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat got off to a good start as well, firing a 68 to lay in T14 with Viktor Hovland among others.
But perhaps the most intriguing story is Chris Couch getting off to a flyer. The 46-year-old, once a PGA TOUR professional, is a regular on the Open Golf America Tour, more popular as the Moonlight Tour. It is called Moonlight because most players have a day job, the tour just a part-time distraction for most of the players, with events lasting a day or two.
Couch had his moment when he found a perfect chip from 55-feet on the final hole to trounce Charles Howell III and Fred Funk at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, way back in 2006. That was to be his only success on the PGA TOUR. Since then he has turned to coaching, but a good run on the Moonlight circuit seems to have energised Couch, who is currently lying T2 in Puerto Rico.
