Mike Lorenzo-Vera said sticking to his game plan was the key to his success as he ended the first round of the 2020 US PGA Championship just one shot off the lead despite his lack of competitive action in the build up to the first Major of the season.
The Frenchman has not made a professional start since before the coronavirus shutdown in March but looked pretty comfortable at TPC Harding Park on Thursday, carding six birdies and two bogeys on his way to a first round 66.
That left him one shot behind leaders Jason Day and Brendon Todd in a huge tie for third on four under.
Playing in pleasant morning conditions before the wind picked up later in the day, Lorenzo-Vera flew out of the blocks with three consecutive birdies from the third.
But his momentum stalled towards the end of his front nine when he made bogeys on the eighth and ninth holes.
That did not faze him, though, as he got back on the birdie trail at the 13th before holing lengthy birdie putts on the 15th and 18th to finish strongly.
Speaking about the way his round ended, Lorenzo-Vera said: "I managed to hit really good shots. Like proper, strong shots. So that was nice.
"And I had a game plan. I've been here for long now, because I was quarantining here. I had a game plan and I was sticking to it, and managed to hit the good shots at the same time. So yeah, that was cool."
Also on four under after a solid morning's work was Englishman Justin Rose.
Starting from the tenth tee, the Olympic champion turned in 33 after carding three birdies and one bogey on his front nine.
Another bogey followed at the third but he bounced back nicely with birdies at the fourth, seventh and eighth to jump up the leaderboard.
Rose said: "I wanted to make the most of this morning's round and get into the championship early, and when I three-putted the par three third hole, which was my 12th hole of the day, I dropped back to one under and I kind of made a bit of a conscious effort to regroup and get back on the front foot and have a strong finish.
"I was happy to be able to birdie three of my last six and post a great round.
"I think it was one of those rare days where you walk off the golf course and you got the most out of your round of golf.
"Nine times out of ten, we walk off slightly frustrated because we've left a few out there, but today was one of those days where I got all of it out."
