PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO | When the rain-soaked El Camaleon Golf Course finally became playable so the Mayakoba Golf Classic could be contested, the players knew what was coming.
With conditions so soft on Friday that some approach shots plugged directly into their pitch marks on the greens, Danny Lee had a legitimate shot to break 60 well before lunchtime. The Greg Norman-designed course was the sixth-shortest course on the PGA Tour last season and only has one defense in conditions such as these: narrow corridors with an unforgiving jungle abyss guarding each side. Joaquin Niemann fed three balls into the wild in his 5-over 76 and discovered how easy it can be to fall 14 shots behind the leader.
For those who found the fairways, the remainder of the equation became elementary. Twenty-three players shot 5-under 66 or better, and many in that group are short drivers such as Brian Gay, Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell and Chez Reavie.
With this being one of the few weeks on the PGA Tour where distance isn't vital, the saga of Luk...
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