Bridgeman’s bogey-free 63 puts him one ahead of Smith at Baycurrent

Jacob Bridgeman opened the Baycurrent Classic with a bogey-free, eight-under 63 on Thursday, taking a one-shot lead over Jordan Smith at Yokohama Country Club. Smith also avoided a bogey in his 64, while four players finished two strokes behind the leader.

Bridgeman's strongest stretch came late in his round. Having started on the 10th, he made birdies at the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes before closing with a par at the ninth. His eight birdies left him alone at the top after all 72 players completed their opening rounds.

Four straight gains open the gap

Bridgeman began with three pars before his first birdie at the 13th. He added birdies at the 15th and 18th to turn in 32. Another gain at the second moved him to four under, setting up the four-hole run that carried him to eight under.

The sequence came across different parts of the course: a birdie at the par-four fifth, another at the par-five sixth, a two at the par-three seventh and a three at the par-four eighth. He finished with 31 on the front nine and 32 on the back.

Smith's card was similarly clean. Starting on the back nine, he birdied the 10th, 15th and 17th, then added four more on the front. His last birdie came at the seventh, leaving him one behind when both leaders had finished.

Sky Sports reported that Smith credited his short game and putting for the round, even though he did not feel he had his best game. The Englishman has been adapting to his first PGA Tour season after earning his card through his DP World Tour performances.

Four players sit two behind

Pierceson Coody, Mac Meissner, Ricky Castillo and Max Homa each shot 65 to share third at six under. Homa made seven birdies and one bogey; the dropped shot at the 11th interrupted a round that included five birdies on the front nine.

Hideki Matsuyama and Collin Morikawa opened with 67s, four strokes off the lead. Defending champion Xander Schauffele had a more uneven start: four birdies and three bogeys produced a one-under 70, leaving him seven behind Bridgeman.

This is a first-round lead with three rounds still to play. Bridgeman has established the pace, but Smith is only one stroke away and the four-player group behind them remains within two. The second round will decide whether those clean starts carry forward or the chasing pack closes the gap.