Mazatlan, Mexico (Sportsbooks) - Adam Speirs and Scott Hawley carded matching rounds of five-under 67 Thursday to share the lead after one round of the Corona Mazatlan Mexican PGA.
The duo tops a crowded leaderboard that has 29 players within three strokes of their lead at El Cid Golf & Country Club.
Defending champion John Ellis heads the group of nine players tied for third place at four-under-par 68. He stands alongside Michael Mezei, Liam Kendregan, Peter Laws, Eugene Smith, Mike Sica, Mitch Gillis, Daniel Im and Cody Slover.
Speirs, the 2008 Greater Vancouver Charity Classic winner, dropped in back-to- back birdies from the second to open his round. Birdies on eight and 14 moved him to four-under.
After stumbling to a bogey on the 17th, Speirs made eagle at the last to grab a share of the lead.
Hawley played the back nine first and made eagle on 11. He gave one stroke back as he bogeyed the 12th. Hawley ran off three birdies in the next four holes to jump to four-under.
The Ottawa native stumbled to a double-bogey on the 17th, but he rebounded with birdies on the 18th and first to move back to minus-four. Hawley birdied the fourth, but he tripped to a bogey on the seventh. He bounced back with a birdie on the eighth to share the first-round lead.
Wes Heffernan leads nine players tied for 12th at three-under-par 69. He was joined there by Chris Wall, Jon McLean, Andy Matthews, Brian Benedictson, Tom Stankowski, Rob Grube, Robert Gates and Aaron Goldberg.
