Graham DeLaet trails by 7 shots at Phoenix Open

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is a bit out there by PGA Tour standards. So is Rickie Fowler.

As comfortable in a motocross race as a golf tournament as a kid in California, Fowler was as fashion-forward as ever in high tops and jogger pants Thursday in front of more than 100,000 fans at TPC Scottsdale.

"I grew up around action sports and this kind of reminds me more of being at action sports events, the fans being loud and having fun," Fowler said.

He brought as much substance as style, shooting a 6-under 65 to tie Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama for the first-round lead.

Graham DeLaet is the top Canadian at 1 over, followed by Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor (2 over) and David Hearn (3 over).

Frost delay

After an hour frost delay at the chilly Stadium Course, Fowler played the first six holes in 5 under.

"I made some good putts to start the round," Fowler said. "Just kind of got everything going. Made a couple of bad swings. Cost me a little bit, but other than that, nice way to get off to a good start."

Fowler missed the cut last week at Torrey Pines after winning the European Tour event in Abu Dhabi the previous week. He has four worldwide victories in the last nine months.

 The top-ranked player in the field at No. 4, Fowler bogeyed the par-3 16th after drawing an awkward lie in the right bunker. He birdied the short par-4 17th, and bogeyed the par-4 18th after driving left into the water. On his back nine, he got up-and-down for birdie from a greenside bunker on the par-5 third and closed with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth.

Lowry birdied seven of his first 13 holes, then bogeyed the next two.

"I got to 7 under and just became a little bit tense there," the Irishman said. "That's something that I need to work on. … It's a bad mistake if you don't learn from it."

Matsuyama was in one of the last groups to finish before play was stopped because of darkness.