China specialist Alexander Levy blitzed the front nine to post a spotless score of nine-under-par 63 to hold a slender advantage over Pablo Larrazabal on day one of China Open at Topwin Golf and Country Club. The 2014 winner Levy, who shared the eighth spot at Shenzhen last week, was off to a steady start on the back nine but soon found his groove with birdies on the 13th, 15th and 17th to stay in touch with early leader Larrazabal. Having played the entire weekend without dropping a shot at Genzon golf Club last week, Larrazabal took control Thursday morning with birdies on the tenth, 11th, 13th and 15th. The 26-year-old Frenchman, however, took his game to the next level, holing from 30 feet on the third before putting his approach to three feet on the next hole to open up a two-shot lead over Larrazabal. Levy made it four birdies in a row on the fifth but the Spaniard came back to stay in touch with the leader on the same hole and eventually remained just one stroke behind the courthouse leader at the end of the day. "I played great," Levy said. "I hit 18 greens today and had some good putts for birdie, two or three long putts that helped but I played well last week and I am enjoying being back here and at this golf course. "The golf is different day after day and I will try my best this week to do like what I did today." England's James Morrison and Swede Peter Hanson were at five-under-par alongside Raphael Jacquelin of France and South African duo George Coetzee and Dean Burmester to share the third spot on the standings. Jorge Campillo, Yi Cao, Jaco van Zyl and Joost Luiten finished tied eighth on the leaderboard after hitting four-under-par score of 68. A late eagle on the front nine kept last week's champion Bernd Wiesberger in contention with a score of 69 to climb up to tied-12th alongside defending champion Li Haotong. Zurich Classic unveils new team format The US PGA Tour takes an intriguing twist this week as the Zurich Classic of New Orleans unveils its new two-man team format. Eighty teams, a total of 160 players, will tee it up, with the top-ranked committed players choosing their playing partners from among those who have full PGA Tour status or a sponsor's exemption. The teams include such star duos as Australian Jason Day and American Rickie Fowler — the last two winners of the US PGA Tour's Players Championship — and the Olympic gold and silver medalists Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. "I've loved being a part of team events throughout my amateur, collegiate and now professional career," Rickie Fowler said. "I'm so excited that the Tour and Zurich are making this part of our schedule and can't wait to tee it up." The event also offers a possible foreshadowing of the Presidents Cup in the team of South Africans Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen and the Japanese duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Hideto Tanihara. The tournament will mark the first time since 1981 that a regular US PGA Tour event will feature players competing in teams. — Agencies
