Baek soars to the top at Mizuno Open

American Todd Baek, inspired by an eagle and an ace, soared into the first round lead of the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open on Thursday.

The 30-year-old, bidding for his JGTO breakthrough, fired a sublime eight-under-par 64 to lead by one from Australia's Anthony Quayle at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club.

This is the only second time Bake found himself at the summit of the leaderboard after he co-led the second round of the Mynavi ABC Championship last year.

2009 winner Ryo Ishikawa shared third place with Takumi Murakami after signing for a 66, while Australia's Brad Kennedy and Young Han Song are among those who finished in an eight-way tie for fifth, three shots off the pace.

Teeing off from the 10th tee, Baek enjoyed a good start when he aced the par-three 16th with a six-iron from 194 yards for his maiden hole-in-one on the JGTO. He then backed it up with a birdie on the 18th for an inward nine of three-under 33.

He picked up two more gains right after the turn before picking up four successive strokes in the three-hole stretch, which started with an eagle on the par-five fifth to get to nine-under.

However, the American’s hopes of finishing with a flawless round went up in smoke when he dropped a bogey at the last.

Still, it was good enough for him to conquer the first day. The superb start also saw Baek snap a run of two unpleasant outings recently. 

He had withdrawn after the first round of the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup and then missed the cut at last week's Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament.

“This is my first hole-in-one on the JGTO and also my 19th ace in my career so far. I was not really playing that well until that hole-in-one kickstarted my charge. Then before I knew it, I got an eagle, which really got me excited. 

“Anyway, this is just the first round, and I’m not thinking of winning yet. There’s still lots of golf to be played, but for today, it was definitely a good day,” said Baek.

Quayle also made his presence felt on the leaderboard thanks to a sizzling front nine that saw him turn in 31 after trading six birdies with a bogey.

He finished with a flourish with birdies on the 16th and 18th holes to put him in early contention for a long-awaited JGTO breakthrough and a first major start.

The leading four finishers of this week, not otherwise exempt, will earn their tickets to St. Andrews for the final major of the season from July 14-17.