WASHINGTON (AFP) — US rookies Kevin Velo and Isaiah Salinda combined to fire a 14-under par 58, setting an 18-hole four-ball tournament record for a one-stroke lead Thursday at the PGA Zurich Classic.

Salinda had eight birdies and an eagle for the partnership while Velo made five birdies, all in the first nine holes, of the pairs event at TPC of Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana.

“It was out-of-body to watch him make as many putts as he did for sure,” Velo said of Salinda. “He played great. He made a ton of putts. He one-putted damn near every green it seemed.

“I sprinkled in some birdies when we needed to, but pretty much I was on his back the whole day.”

Salinda and Velo, pals since their junior golf days, broke the Classic record of 59 set by Americans Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele set in the 2022 opening round and matched earlier Thursday by Danish twin brothers Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard to stand second.

“I would have thought anything better than six-, seven-under would have been a good day for us,” said Salinda, who expects tougher times in Friday’s alternate shot format.

“If we just keep playing solid golf, we’ll be just fine.”

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, in his first event since winning the Masters two weeks ago, and partner Shane Lowry of Ireland opened with a 64, sharing 28th in their bid to become the first back-to-back Zurich Classic champions.

“Sometimes every par you make feels like a bogey on these sorts of days,” McIlroy said. “But then again, you have to remember that tomorrow and Sunday are the important days and if you can shoot good scores on those days, you can move up the board pretty quickly.”