Tour Report: Watson, Jones lead at 6 under (PGATOUR.com)

On the par-5 18th, Bubba Watson managed just a par Thursday. That was about the only thing that didn’t go write for Watson.

The long-hitting left-hander made six birdies, an eagle and just two bogeys on his to a 6-under 66 that gives him a one-shot lead after the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Watson hasn’t been much of a factor his last three starts, but he was on target Thursday, hitting 15 grens in regulation and taking 28 putts.

And remember, he has a history of playing well in this even with a tie for fifth in 2007.

Meanwhile, Australian Matt Jones made a late push with birdies on each of his last two holes to tie for the lead with Watson at 6 under.

At one point, Jones made four straight birdies and he finished the day with eight. He also took just 25 putts and averaged 1.46 putts per green.

Watson and Jones lead a cluster of six players at 5 under, which includes David Duval.

Watch: Thursday highlights

Greenwood/Getty Images

Bubba Watson is seeking his second win of the season this week in Louisiana.

Bubba Watson: The PGA TOUR’s resident long bomber eagles the 575-yard par-5 11th. Click here

John Rollins: One way to make birdie on the par-4 12th? Chip in from 27 feet. Click here

Vaughn Taylor: Taylor sticks his approach shot on the par-5 18th to set up an easy birdie. Click here

Leaderboard getting crowded

It’s late in the opening round of the Zurich Classic and there’s no clear picture of atop the leaderboard with five players now tied for the top spot at 5 under after Bubba Watson bogeyed the par-3 14th.

John Rollins, meanwhile, just had a birdie putt on the 16th hole to get to 6 under, but his effort wasn’t close.

At the other end o the leaderboard? John Daly. He’s now 8 over through 17 holes with a bogey, triple bogey and double bogey over his last three holes.

Watson grabs sole possession of lead

That three-way tie at the top didn’t last long.

Bubba Watson bypassed them all when he smoked a drive at the par-5 11th 343 yards, then hit his approach from 239 to 32 feet, 3 inches. The putt, of course, went in for the eagle.

Watson, who won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year, now stands 6 under. Joe Durant is finished with a 67 while Carl Pettersson and Vaughn Taylor are on their final nines at 5 under.

Three now tied at the top

Carl Pettersson has joined Vaughn Taylor and Joe Durant at the top of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans leaderboard.

Pettersson and Taylor have each completed 11 holes this afternoon; the former starting on the front and the latter on the back nine. Neither has made a bogey at TPC Louisiana.

Durant is safely in the clubhouse.

John Rollins and Bubba Watson are also making moves this afternoon. Both are 4 under, Rollins through 12 holes and Watson through 10.

Par-4 15th quite a challenge

The 15th hole continues to be the most difficult during the first round of the Zurich Classic. The 490-yard par 4 is playing .409 strokes over par midway through the afternoon wave.

“Today it was dead into the wind,” said Joe Durant, the clubhouse leader after posting a 67. “I hit a really good drive there and still had 225 which was playing almost 250. It was into the teeth of the wind. I hit a really good 5 wood to the back left corner of the green, made my two putt and got out of there.

“I knew 4 there was going to be a good score.”

David Toms certainly would have taken it.

“I couldn’t even reach it today,” he said. “And I said, does it count as not a green in regulation if you can’t reach the green?  I mean, come on.

“But I hit two of my best shots and didn’t get there, so that hole was brutal.”

And that was hardly the only challenge. Durant said the par-3 14th was playing dead into the wind, too.

“I didn’t have a club for that one,” he said. “I tried to hit a 3-iron and missed the green short but was fortunate to get up and down. 

“Those were probably the two hardest holes back to back today.”

Taylor leading afternoon wave

Vaughn Taylor is leading the afternoon portion of the draw at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

The Georgian, who has two PGA TOUR victories, both of which came in Reno, has birdied four of his first eight holes. Taylor, who is currently 4 under, is looking to end a six-year victory drought.

Carl Pettersson and Ben Crane are 3 under through eight and six holes, respectively. Crane also has hit five more fairways — which means another $500 for the St. Bernard Project that helps rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Beem me up: Disaster on No. 6

Rich Beem was wearing a microphone when he found trouble on No. 6.

Two weeks ago, Kevin Na was wearing a microphone as part of Golf Channel’s coverage of the Valero Texas Open when he made a 16 on the par-4 ninth at TPC San Antonio. fast forward to Thursday at TPC Louisiana, where it was Rich Beem’s turn as he made a triple-bogey 7 on the sixth hole. Click here to see the video.

Equipment change helps Durant

Joe Durant figured it couldn’t hurt. After all, he’d only cashed two checks in nine starts this year.

So the 47-year-old decided to change his shafts in his irons earlier this week, and the move paid big dividends on Thursday when he shot a 67 in the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

The round of six birdies and just one bogey gave Durant the clubhouse lead on a breezy day at TPC Louisiana. He was one shot ahead of Webb Simpson and Matt Bettencourt when the morning wave had finished.

Martin/Getty Images

Joe Durant posted a 67 Thursday for the early clubhouse lead.

“I’m using the same iron head,” Durant explained. “I just changed shafts this week, because I was having trouble this year flighting the ball down.  I’ve been hitting a lot of up-shooting type shots, which is not normal for me.

“So the shaft change has helped me tremendously. I can see the ball coming out with the proper trajectory now. Made a big difference, especially when it’s windy like here.”

Thursday’s wind wasn’t nearly as fierce as it had been the day before when Durant noted “they almost had to name the storm.” That said, the breezes were coming from a different direction — but it didn’t confuse the veteran, who is playing in his 15th Zurich Classic.

“I think I just stayed very patient today,” Durant said. “Some of the pins were in some difficult spots so you had to kind of shoot away from them.

“I just took what the course gave me today.  I had a couple of good opportunities that I was able to capitalize on.  Like I said earlier, the wind was in a total different direction, so it was almost like a new golf course today.

“But I played well. I played around here enough to know what it’s going to do with different winds, and I just had a game plan for the north wind, so it worked out pretty well.”

Durant’s round was even more impressive considering he only birdied one of TPC Louisiana’s four par 5s. “So, yeah, that’s encouraging that I didn’t really attack the fives that great and still shot 5 under,” he said. “Maybe I can get them tomorrow.”

By the time he finished off his round, Durant said the wind had lost some of its intensity. He expected scoring to improve in the afternoon, as a result.

“There will be some good numbers this afternoon,” Durant said. “I wouldn’t be surprised.  I don’t think 5 under will be leading at the end of the day.  I think somebody can shoot 6 or 7.  But they’re just drying out, too, so it will be tough to tell.”

Click here to replay Durant’s round on Shot Tracker.

Fowler finds his rhythm

Coming off a missed cut at Hilton Head, Rickie Fowler went back to the range, did some work and lo and behold finds himself in contention after an opening-round 2-under 70 Thursday at TPC Louisiana.

Fowler

Fowler didn’t waste any time putting birdies on the scorecard with three of them over his first four holes after starting on the back nine.

The 2010 Rookie of the Year hit a snag on the 15th hole, however, where he came up short with his approach shot into the wind and made bogey.

Fowler bounced back with a birdie on the fourth hole, but he faltered again with a bogey on No. 9.

“I hit a really good putt for par there, but a tough hole for the day,” Fowler said. “I walked away with a bogey. But I felt like I was swinging really good today, especially after last week.”

Fowler, of course, was referring to his 74-73 at The Heritage. Still, that was just his second missed cut of the year. In nine starts, Fowler has two top-10s.

Normally we’re most interested in birdies and bogeys when we look at a player’s scorecard. This week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, though, you should be checking out how many fairways Ben Crane hits. Crane For every fairway he finds, Zurich Financial Services will donate $100 to the St. Bernard Project, a non-profit …