Honda Classic 2019: Jhonattan Vegas Leads After Strong Round 1

Jhonattan Vegas went into the clubhouse on Thursday afternoon as the leader at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and he stayed there. 

Vegas shot a 6-under 64, giving him a two-stroke lead over Zach Johnson, Ernie Els, Ben Silverman and Lucas Glover. He finished with six birdies, no bogeys, had an average driving distance of 305 yards, a driving accuracy of 78.5 percent, hit 83.3 percent of his greens in regulation and gained 2.2 strokes putting, per PGATour.com.  

"I was able to drive the ball really well today and hit my irons incredibly well," Vegas said after his round on the Golf Channel. "I think I only missed three greens, and out of those three greens, I left two within 15 feet of the hole. Hitting some of those irons well to some of those tough pins makes the day a little bit easier."

Vegas also noted that the Honda Classic offered him the opportunity to find his groove ahead of The Players Championship.

"Obviously you want to win every week, you want to play well, and this is such an important event as well. But it's just trying to lead into The Players the best way you can," he said. "Getting used to the heat, getting used to the grass, getting used to everything about Florida."

As for the next three rounds to come at the Honda Classic, Vegas has some big names hot on his tail. That includes Els, who was happy with his round:

Then there's Johnson, who doesn't have a win to his name since 2015 and downplayed his strong performance on Thursday:

Down at 3-under, meanwhile, lurks a slew of dangerous players, including Brooks Koepka, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.

Fowler had a fascinating day, hitting a triple-bogey on No. 7 that threatened to bury him well down the leaderboard. But he recovered nicely, with four birdies and no bogeys on his final 11 holes. 

That strong back nine kept him within striking distance of Vegas. 

Other notable names built themselves deeper holes to dig out of, including Adam Scott (+2), Webb Simpson (+2) and Jason Dufner (+3).

And then there were the day's highlights, which includes some truly incredible approach shots:

The Honda Classic also included some memorable putts:

But everybody is watching Vegas for the moment. He may have The Players Championship in his sights, but he's in excellent position to win the Honda Classic in the process. If Vegas keeps driving the ball well and avoiding any costly mistakes, he's in an excellent position to finish where he's started in Florida.