Moore leads by a shot at the Zozo Championship after opening with a 7-under 63

Photo: Canadian Press

INZAI CITY, Japan (AP) — Taylor Moore shot a 7-under 63 to lead by one stroke after the first round of the Zozo Championship, the only PGA Tour event in Japan, on Thursday.

Max Greyserman, Nico Echavarria and Eric Cole were one shot behind after the 64 rounds at Narashino Country Club.

Two players from Taiwan – CT Pan and Kevin Yu – were back in the 65s.

Moore aced the 562-yard 18th hole — his ninth hole of the round — when he hit the ball from just over 100 feet away.

“I had a lot of greenery to work with,” Moore said. “I hit a good chip and it went in.”

Moore and Echavarria each have one win on the PGA Tour. Greyserman and Cole are looking for the former.

Greyserman is playing in a tournament for the first time in two months. He finished second in two of his last four tournaments and then took a break from clubs.

“To be honest, I haven’t played or practiced much,” he said. “I mean, when you hit as many shots as every guy here has in a lifetime, it really doesn’t leave you.”

Cole missed a playoff last year at the Honda Classic while seeking his first victory.

It was a reasonable day for some of the best-known players in the uncut field of ’72.

Local favorite and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsyama shot a 1-under 71 and was far off the pace.

Defending champion Collin Morikawa opened with a 69, and PGA Championship and British Open winner Xander Schauffele stumbled to a 3-under 73. He had company there with fellow American Max Homa.

Schauffele hit an eight on the par-4 ninth when his tee shot landed behind a tree.

“I should have picked an unplayable, but I was an idiot and tried to get it right,” he said. “So I was stubborn and tried to hit it again, and finally got an unplayable one.”

Schauffele was asked if there were any lessons to be learned.

“Having false confidence sometimes helps, but in these situations it really doesn’t help,” he said. “So I’ll definitely try to evaluate it a little better next time and really think about whether I can get it out there or not.”

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