Shell Houston Open 2017: Rickie Fowler Surges to Top of Leaderboard on Thursday

Rickie Fowler jumped out to the lead Thursday at the Shell Houston Open as he shot an eight-under 64 in the first round at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.

As seen in the following look at the leaderboard, Fowler holds a one-shot advantage over South Korea's Sung Kang entering the second round:

The 28-year-old American carded a bogey-free round, which is something he has grown accustomed to as of late, according to Will Gray of GolfChannel.com:

Thursday marked Fowler's best performance by far in a single round at the Shell Houston Open during his career, per PGA Tour Media:

As seen in the following tweet courtesy of the PGA Tour, Fowler was locked in when it came to his approach shots, giving him makeable putts for all eight of his birdies:

His iron work would have all been for naught, however, if his putter wasn't firing on all cylinders as well.

It was apparent early on that Fowler had a feel for the greens. He confidently knocked down a birdie putt on No. 10, which was his first hole of the day:

By the time Fowler completed the 16th hole, he had already drained five birdie putts in seven holes played:

Fowler birdied No. 3 and No. 4 as well, and he entered the ninth with a chance to be the solo leader in the clubhouse with a birdie.

That is precisely what Fowler carded, executing a fantastic tee shot to set up a fairly routine birdie putt on the par-three hole:

Kang had a bogey-free round of his own with eight birdies entering the 18th hole, but a bogey prevented him from owning a share of the lead.

Past major winners such as Stewart Cink, Justin Rose and Keegan Bradley are all within a few shots of the lead after one round of play.

Jordan Spieth is among the biggest names in the field, and he enjoyed a solid start with a three-under 69.

As seen in the following video, the Texan had a predictably massive cheering section at the Golf Club of Houston:

Spieth had somewhat of an up-and-down day with five birdies and two bogeys. He flashed moments of brilliance, though, such as this delicate chip shot:

Phil Mickelson shot a pedestrian, even-par 72, but even Lefty's worst rounds tend to feature some spectacular moments.

That was the case Thursday as he chipped in for birdie on No. 13:

Mickelson has plenty of work to do in the coming rounds in order to get in contention after Fowler set a blistering pace.

Fowler is in the midst of an excellent 2017 season with one win already under his belt in the form of February's Honda Classic.

He hasn't finished worse than 16th in a PGA Tour event so far this year, and it seems likely he will continue that trend in Texas.

Fowler doesn't have a history of success in the Shell Houston Open, but based on the form he has displayed as of late, he has established himself as the favorite to take the title.

Post-Round Reaction

On the heels of his impressive round, Fowler discussed the muddy conditions and the fact that they didn't impact his performance much, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): "I felt like I got some good breaks with having mud on the same side as where the trouble was and that I could kind of keep it fairly conservative. If the mud was kind of kicking in, it ended up being a good shot."

Kang needs a win in order to qualify for the Masters, but the Korean said he isn't focusing on that despite his strong opening round: "I don't know anything about the future, and whatever happens, happens. I'll just keep doing what I can do the next few days, and I'll accept the results."

While Kang has added motivation to come out on top, Fowler has the benefit for momentum on his side.