LOS ANGELES - Kevin Streelman, fired up by the World Series appearance of the Chicago Cubs, grabbed 10 birdies in a nine-under par 63 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the US PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship.
Kevin Streelman chips onto the third hole during the First Round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi
Streelman hit 13 of 14 fairways in regulation and 17 of 18 greens on the Country Club of Jackson layout in Mississippi. He was two strokes in front of Sweden's Carl Pettersson, Ireland's Seamus Power and American Trey Mullinax.
Pettersson holed out from 161 yards for an eagle at the par-four 16th to join the group on 65.
Japan's Hiroshi Iwata, Colombian Camilo Villegas, Canadian Graham DeLaet and former US Open winner Lucas Glover were among a group of seven sharing fifth place a further stroke back on 66.
"Obviously I putted great," Streelman said. "I hit it well.
"I got a little video from my coach, he gave me one or two things to think about today and one of them really clicked," added Streelman, who is in search of his third PGA Tour title and his first since the 2014 Travelers Championship. "I'm just trying to feel a little bit more rotational and not so under -- and I was just peppering the flags all day."
The 37-year-old Streelman, an Illinois native and fan of baseball's Chicago Cubs, said he was motivated by the team's 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night that levelled the World Series at one game apiece.
The Cubs are trying to win baseball's championship showcase for the first time since 1908.
"The Cubbies had a good night last night -- felt inspired waking up," Streelman said.
The tournament follows the US PGA Tour's 2016-17 season-opener in Napa, California, last week and runs opposite the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where the game's biggest names are in action this week.
Chris Kirk, ranked 74th in the world, is the highest-ranked player in the field.
Defending champion Peter Malnati carded a 71. England's Ian Poulter, who missed almost five months in 2016 with a foot injury, continued his comeback with a two-under 70 that left him seven off the pace.