Mackenzie Hughes fires sizzling 63 to grab Procore lead as Ryder Cup stars chase

Hughes, a two-time PGA Tour winner, said a sub-60 round briefly crossed his mind, but back-to-back bogeys at 14 and 15 forced him to settle for the outright lead at Silverado Resort in Napa, California on Thursday.

The Canadian set the tone early with birdies at the second and third, then caught fire with gains at the fifth and sixth and a run of three in a row at eight, nine and 10. He added consecutive birdies at 12 and 13, overcame his miscues at 14 and 15, and closed strong with birdies at 16 and 18.

"I had a nice feel with the putter, so it was really just about continuing to put my foot on the gas and go forward," Hughes said. "I did some really nice things.

"On 12 I drove it right and had to kind of pitch back to the fairway and I got up and down from 225 yards for birdie. So I did some stuff that you can't really count on all the time."

Making his first start since the FedEx Cup playoffs in August, Hughes opened the Tour's Fall series in style at an event doubling as a tune-up for several US Ryder Cup players ahead of this month's clash with Europe.

Griffin, twice a winner this year and a captain's pick for his first Ryder Cup, led the American contingent with eight birdies and a clutch 17-foot par save at the last to post 64, matching McCarty, who also carded eight birdies without a bogey.

World No. 4 Russell Henley joined Lanto Griffin at 65 after rebounding from a shaky start. Henley bogeyed his first two holes but then caught fire with six birdies in seven holes, added three more on the back nine, and closed with his 10th of the day at 18.

"I feel really good about how I'm hitting it off the tee," Henley said. "Felt like I was controlling my distances pretty well to the greens and I putted great.

"I felt good about my reads and felt like I was hitting my lines and hitting them solid, so it was awesome to see them go in."

US Open champion J.J. Spaun opened with a solid 67, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler - a five-time winner this season, including two majors - had to settle for a two-under 70 after mixing four birdies with two bogeys.