PGA Tour: Chinese pair Dou and Yuan keep pace with early leaders at Cadence Bank Houston Open

Chinese duo Marty Dou and Carl Yuan produced strong finishes to post matching three-under-par 67s on Thursday to lie two strokes off the first round lead at the Cadence Bank Houston Open.

Dou, who is enjoying a second stint on the PGA Tour, ended his day with a flourish with three successive birdies from 15 at the Memorial Park Golf Course while Yuan, featuring in his rookie season, birdied his closing two holes.

Sweden’s Alex Noren and the US trio of Tony Finau, Aaron Wise and Tyson Alexander share the lead at five-under.

After missing the cut in his first three tournaments, Yuan was delighted with his opening 67. He reached the turn at one-under before ending his day with a tap-in birdie on 17 and a nine-foot conversion at the last.

“I’m satisfied with the score but my ball striking was not very satisfactory,” said the 25-year-old Yuan, who finished second on the Korn Ferry Tour last season to earn his Tour card.

“The main thing is the strategy is better because this golf course is difficult. With many long holes, if you make par, it’s a good result. I attacked some greens and had to make a couple of putts to save par on several holes which was good. However, I didn’t play the par-5s very well which hopefully I can play them better tomorrow.”

Dou converted putts from inside seven feet for his three straight birdies towards the end of his round. After posting two top-25 finishes recently, the 25-year-old is keen to keep his foot on the pedal as he chases a career first top-10 on the Tour. No mainland Chinese golfer has won on the Tour.