The PGA Tour season moved further south this weekend for the 2017 Valero Texas Open, with Branden Grace taking the first-round lead with a six-under-par 66.Grace holds a one-shot lead over a quartet of players, including Will MacKenzie, John Huh, Steven Alker and Stewart Cink. The top of the leaderboard is a jumble because there are13players tied for fifth place at four under, setting the stage for a wild and busy Friday.Here's the full leaderboard after 18 holes fromAT&T Oaks Course in San Antonio:Grace has struggled to maintain consistency this season. The 28-year-old has had good individual rounds, bookending the RBC Heritage last week with identical scores of 68, but he's been unable to maintain that level for 72 holes.His 66 on Thursday marked his best round in a PGA Tour event since the third round of the Sony Open in January. He did it by hitting seven birdies and one bogey, including a run of three birdies in five holes from No. 10 through 14 that pushed him into the lead.Per the Golf Channel, Grace hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation to set the pace at the Valero Texas Open.As good as Grace's round ended up being, Justin Ray of the Golf Channel highlighted one area that could be a cause for concern moving forward in the tournament:After heading into the clubhouse with the lead, Grace said the elements in Texas actually helped his game.I enjoy coming back here, he said, per John Strege of Golf Digest. I think its my third or fourth visit, and Ive played well here in the past. Its one of those courses I like playing. The wind blows. I like playing in the wind. I like hitting it a lot lower than the normal guys out there.Cink is trying to piece together four solid rounds of golf after missing the cut last week at the RBC Heritage and finishing inside the top 20 just four times in 13 events this season.Among the players bunched together at four-under par, Ken Duke offered one of the day's best highlights with this eagle from the bunker on No. 14:Duke needed that shot to get back his momentum after bogeying Nos. 11 and 13 to bring his score back to one-under par. He would hit a birdie on No. 17 for the cherry on top of his round.Another player who found his momentum late in the round was Alker. The 45-year-old, who is playing in his first PGA Tour event since the Puerto Rico Open four weeks ago, hit three consecutive birdies on the final three holes to finish with a 67.The leaderboard is perfectly set up for chaos in the second round because so many players are bunched tightly together. Grace looked as comfortable as anyone on the course and could pull away if he hits his driver and irons like he did Thursday with some putting improvements.If Grace isn't at his best Friday, he will find himself looking up at a new leader before the weekend starts.
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