John Rahm (64) Sets The Pace At Mexico (Outlier) Open

There were a lot of eyes on world No. 2 Jon Rahm and Mexico’s favorite son — Abraham Ancer — as the Mexico Open made its debut Thursday at an official PGA Tour event.

Rahm did what he was expected to do — Ancer did not.

Rahm is head-and-shoulders the best player in this overall weak field at birdie friendly Vidanta Vallarta and he played like it over the first 18 holes at the picturesque layout.  Rahm started on the back nine, got his round going with a chip-in birdie at the 13th then got himself to the top when he drove the 311-yard par four seventh then holed a 41-foot eagle putt.

He’s tied with an assortment of outliers including Monday qualifier Bryson Nimmer, card-losing Jonathan Byrd, winless Trey Mullinax and three-time winner Brendon Todd, whose best finish this year was a T8 at the Valero.

Aaron (Two-Gloves) Rai played well with partner David Lipsky last week in New Orleans and is still in good form.  He opened with 65 and was tied with Aaron Wise, Sahith Theegala and Scott Brown.

Another hometown favorite, Carlos Ortiz, shot 70 on a course he knows quite well.

Ancer had a day to forget.  His up-and-down round left him tied for 78th — on the wrong side of the cutline.  He’ll have to play better to stick around for the weekend otherwise he’ll be doing tequila shots in the clubhouse.

Patrick Reed is in the midst of a forgettable season but managed to shoot 67.  Tony Finau couldn’t buy a putt, which has been his story this season.  He’s at 71 with Ancer.  Kevin Na got in a heated, nearly-physical exchange with Grayson Murray earlier this week on the range.  Na shot 70 while the Na-badgering Murray shot 73 and looked to be on his way to missing yet another cut.

The course is player friendly with wide fairways, the rough is no factor and the only problem preventing a lot of birdies can be afternoon winds blowing in off the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Rahm has struggled with his putting this season.  He ranked 132nd on Tour in Strokes Gained Putting but his flat-stick wasn’t an issue on day one.  After his eagle putt on the seventh, he chipped in for birdie at the 13th.  “I hadn’t hit my best iron shots early on, right,” Rahm said. “Misjudged it on 10, double crossed it on 11, double crossed it on 13 and got the first two up-and-downs and then chipped that one in from an uncomfortable lie and tough one, right? That was a huge bonus. I think a lot of people obviously would look at the eagle on seven, but that one early on was a huge booster.”

Mexico Open Scoreboard: