Miami, Feb 21 (AFP) Kyle Stanley, looking for his first PGA Tour title since 2017, fired an eight-under par 64 to take a two-shot first-round lead in the Puerto Rico Open.

Stanley posted a career-high nine birdies, hitting all 18 greens in regulation and dropping his only shot of the day at the eighth on Thursday.

He birdied the first three holes -- and four of the first five -- on the par-72 Coco Beach Golf and Country Cub course.

He added another four birdies in a row from the ninth through the 12th and picked up one last birdie at 15.

It was a welcome turnaround for Stanley, winner of the 2012 Phoenix Open and 2017 Quicken Loans National who has made just four cuts in 11 starts so far in the 2019-2020 season.

A victory in Puerto Rico -- a tournament played opposite the elite World Golf Championships Mexico Championship -- would see him secure his US PGA Tour card for another two seasons.

Half a dozen players shared second on 66: Argentina's Emiliano Grillo, Sweden's Henrik Norlander, Australian Rhein Gibson and Americans Josh Teater and Peter Uihlein.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)