Trump must've threatened to deport Villegas back to Columbia if he doesn't start playing some decent golf again soon. He's leading the way @ 8-under after the opening round.
Bubba Watson joins two others @ 5-under, three shots back. Someone may point out my earlier comment that Riviera isn't a bomb-and-gouge layout, but Bubba's not exactly a one-trick pony. Sure, he can bomb and gouge with the best of them, but he's also notorious for being one of the better shotmakers on tour. It could prove to be a winning combination this time around, if his putting doesn't falter anyway.
Rory Mc is sitting comfortably @ 4-under after a nice start Thursday. Despite the lone bogey blemish coming on the 15th hole (his 6th hole of the day yesterday - started on the 10th) he otherwise managed a relatively clean card and is currently T5 with about 7 other guys. One of those guys, Charlie Danielson, is a senior at the U of Illinois and is in the field as an amateur competitor this week. Regardless of where he finishes, he can at least say that he bested Jordan Spieth by 12 strokes in an official PGA Tour tournament round.
Speaking of which... I don't think Jordan will make excuses for the opening round of 79, but it won't make the frustrating ordeal he suffered through any more palatable. It was bad enough to merit an emergency practice session afterward with his swing coach, but he thinks he's still not completely out of it. "I believe I can shoot 10-under par on this course," Spieth said. "I'm not packing it in by any means." If he were to somehow pull that remarkable feat off on Friday, it would be an 18-stroke swing in the span of 24 hours. I guess if anyone could pull that off - Jordan can.
Last week's winner Vaughn Taylor didn't struggle quite as bad as Jordan, but +2 in his opening round was a bit of a downer coming off of his emotional victory last Sunday, and he'll need to hole a few putts Friday to make it into the weekend.
Justin Rose, my personal pick, shot 2-under and is currently T27.