Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
VALLARTA, Mexico — Austin Smotherman already has one victory in the Mexico Open. But that was when it wasn't a PGA Tour event. He took a small step toward another with a bogey-free round of 63 at Vidanta Villarta for a one-shot lead over Erik van Rooyen and Tano Goya. Smotherman finished his round with four straight birdies. Defending champion Jon Rahm got off to a sluggish start. The Masters champion had five birdies over his final 11 holes for a 67. Raul Pereda is among those two shots behind. He made his PGA Tour debut on home soil with a 65.







