Leonard was tied with three other players atop the leaderboard at 6-under on the El Camaleón Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
MORE: Leaderboard | PGA Tour winners
Also at 65: Shawn Stefani and Derek Fathaber of the U.S. and Australia’s Aaron Baddeley.
Also of note: South Africa’s Thomas Aiken started play on Thursday with a hole-in-one. Teeing off on the par-3 10th hole, he planted a 6-iron. Aiken then followed with two birdies.
Things then went sour for Aiken, who played last week in China. He finished at 3-over.
Leonard is winding down his career, having said he plans to play 12 tournaments this season. He recently purchased a $9 million home in Aspen, Colo., where he plans to spend time with his family.
Not to worry: Leonard recently sold his home in Texas for $13.4 million.
Leonard is a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour. His biggest win was the 1997 British Open.
When the tournament concludes on Sunday, we’ll know if the recent trend of first-time winners continues. The Tour is 5-for-5 to start the wraparound season. Those first-timers include Emiliano Grillo, Smylie Kaufman, Justin Thomas, Peter Malnati and Russell Knox. Malnati won the Sanderson Farms championship last week while Knox was winning World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions tournament in China.
