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The best player in the 2022 Mexico Open looked the part on Thursday as world No. 2 Jon Rahm opened with a bogey-free 7-under 64. Off in the morning wave, the Spaniard was treated to little-to-no wind and took full advantage.

"Yeah, really comfortable off the tee," Rahm said. "You're not really in real danger of being in bad position, but even though it's generous, when I'm hitting shots the way with the trajectory and the ball flight that I wanted, it just gives me more confidence for every other shot. I was really comfortable out there, so it reflected on the score."

Leading the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green and strokes gained: off-the-tee, Rahm's improvement in the short-game department was a welcome sight. Arriving at Vidanta Vallarta 173rd in strokes gained: around-the-green and 132nd in strokes gained: putting on the season, the 27-year-old was able to put those troubles to the side in Round 1.

Kick-starting his round by holing a greenside chip on the par-3 13th, Rahm capped off his day in an equally impressive fashion with an eagle-2 on the par-4 7th, his 16th hole of the day. Connecting on nearly 100 feet of putts on Thursday, Rahm should feel comfortable with not only his game, but with his chance to raise a trophy for the first time since the U.S. Open last summer.

The co-leaders

Rahm is not the only player to sit atop the leaderboard as he is accompanied by five other golfers. Brendon Todd, Trey Mullinax, Jonathan Byrd, Bryson Nimmer and Kurt Kitayama also turned in rounds of 7-under 64 to join the six-time winner on the PGA Tour.

Nimmer gained entry into the tournament by earning medalist honors at the open qualifier, something Byrd has become familiar with the past couple years. The five-time winner on the PGA Tour returned to Q-School last fall, playing his way into the second stage and finals.

"If you're playing the past champion category, you might go five weeks without playing a tournament and it's just hard to keep momentum," Byrd said. "I'm on the verge of getting in the next two weeks, which would be four in a row, so I'm just kind of tickled to just have more tournaments to play in. I started the year thinking I might get in 15, looks like I might get in more like 20. I'm just happy to have starts."

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Other contenders

T7: Aaron Wise, Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala, Scott Brown (-6)

T11: Sebastian Munoz, Charles Howell III, C.T. Pan, Alex Smalley, Greyson Sigg, Patrick Rodgers, Hayden Buckley, Brandon Hagy, Ryan Blaum, Andrew Novak (-5)

All of those inside the top 10 are currently scheduled to tee off Friday afternoon with the exceptions of Brown and Kitayama. The 38-year-old has played some of the best golf of his career in tropical locations and sits only 1-stroke off the lead. The winner of the 2013 Puerto Rico Open, Brown has bounced between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour this season posting quality results at the Bermuda Championship, The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and Corales Puntacana Championship.

Not one, but two holes-in-one on the par-3 5th

In its first public appearance, the Greg Norman design delivered early and often in the first round with two holes-in-one. Off the clubs of Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Scott Gutschewski, those at Vidanta Vallarta should remain well-hydrated Thursday night. 

"I mean it was a really good number, a little bit helping wind and hit it and it looked really good in the air and I was like wow, I hit that. It was a good one." Gutschewski said. "I didn't like chunk it or blade it. Yeah, it looked good the whole way. I was looking at it like wow, that looks really good."

The younger Ortiz leads the home charge

Most casual golf fans may be unfamiliar with the Mexico Open, but it has been around since its first playing in 1944. A storied event, it has finally reached the stage of the PGA Tour and boasts 10 Mexicans in the field -- the most ever for a PGA Tour event. Surprisingly, it was not Abraham Ancer, or Carlos Ortiz who led the way for the home faithful on Thursday, but rather, the defending champion, Alvaro Ortiz.

The younger brother of Carlos, the 26-year-old Alvaro arrived to Vidanta Vallarta having missed four consecutive cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour. He grew up on the property as his father was a contractor for Vidanta for 25 years. Feeling at home, Ortiz carded a 3-under 68 to lead all Mexicans and sit in a tie for 34th.

"It's a dream come true that we get to play here that we've been coming for, man, I don't know how long. Since I have a memory we've been coming here to Puerto Vallarta," Alvaro Ortiz said.

Updated odds and picks

Here's a look at the odds after the opening round, courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

  • Jon Rahm: 7-4
  • Aaron Wise: 12-1
  • Brendon Todd: 14-1
  • Aaron Rai: 20-1
  • Kurt Kitayama: 20-1
  • Sebastian Munoz: 22-1
  • Gary Woodland: 22-1
  • Sahith Theegala: 22-1

I only have interest in one player from the above list and that is Woodland who came into the Mexico Open in strong form and did nothing to prove otherwise in Round 1. Gaining strokes on the field in each tee-to-green metric, Woodland disappointed with the flat stick, but was still able to sign for a round of 4-under 67 in the afternoon to remain within reach of the leaders. Tony Finau is another player to catch my eye, but after a disappointing even-par 71, a 3-ball play over Abraham Ancer and Kevin Na may be the sound investment for Friday.