The Melburnian capitalised with an opening 65 at the par-71 El Camaleon Golf Club to tie the lead in the $US6.2 million event.
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Northern Irishman McDowell made seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch in his round of eight under to be 12-under-par for the tournament and one shot clear of America Derek Fathauer.
McDowell, whose missed cut at the PGA Championship brought his 2014-15 season to an abrupt end, has fallen from 15th in the world rankings to 85th coming into the week. His best finish this year was a tie for ninth in the Dubai Desert Classic. He said the mental hurdle in cutting back his schedule was to realize “I’m not going to forget how to swing a club, I’m not going to forget how to play the game”. It’s been a frustrating year.
“It’s been a frustrating year, but that’s the game of golf we know and love, and you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth and keep trying”, he added. A victor for the first time last week in China, Knox is the only player to tee it up in each of the first five weeks of the new season.
But Leonard, Stefani, Fathauer and Baddeley managed to complete 18 holes at the picturesque Mexican course.
Leonard – the 1997 Open champion and 12-time PGA Tour victor but without a win since 2008 – posted six birdies in his flawless first round.
A day after an nearly calamitous start to the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Graeme McDowell on Friday found himself in an unexpected position, the halfway leader after the second round at the PGA Tour event in Mexico.
Matt Kuchar, at No. 16 in the world the highest-ranked player at Mayakoba, opened with a 72.
Bohn was cruising along with four birdies on his front nine and then followed a birdie at the 12th with an eagle at the par-five 13th before a lightning delay halted play for about 90 minutes.
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He said: “I’ve got to get past that first hole, which is kind of killing me”.
