SAN ANTONIO, April 4 (UPI) -- Matt Bettencourt, hoping to regain a full-time job on the PGA Tour, survived difficult conditions Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Texas Open.
Bettencourt lost his tour card last year following a poor season and this is only his third appearance on the circuit in 2013.
He shot a 5-under-par 67 at the TPC-San Antonio Oaks Course on a chilly, windy day and wound up tied for the top spot when Peter Tomasulo, playing in the final group of the day, birdied the final two holes.
Tomasulo put together a rare bogey-free round for his 67.
Bettencourt birdied three of the first five holes to get started and joined Tomasulo with a one-shot lead over Steven Bowditch, Harris English, Bryce Molder, Billy Horschel and Padraig Harrington.
Harrington captured three major titles in the span of 14 months, the last of those being the 2008 PGA Championship, but he has not won in the United States since then.
Jim Furyk was among the large group tied for seventh at 69 while two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen made a rare showing on the leaderboard after firing a 70 that left him in a tie for 16th place.
Jordan Spieth, who at age 19 has earned at least temporary tour membership by collecting more than $500,000 in the first three months of the year, was 4-under with two holes to play before suffering a triple-bogey. He wound up with a 1-under 71.
Rory McIlroy, hoping to find some of his former magic before next week's Masters Tournament, settled for a 72. McIlroy, recently replaced by Tiger Woods as the world's top-ranked player, had three bogeys in a row during the middle portion of his round.
