EDDIE Pepperell struggled on his first taste of a World Golf Championships event.

The golfer from Abingdon carded a six-over-par round of 77 at Chapultepec in Mexico to finish the opening day joint 66th in the 72-man field.

A steady start of six pars was derailed by double bogeys at the seventh and ninth, which saw him reach the turn at four-over par.

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Successive birdies at the 11th and 12th briefly got the 28-year-old going in the right direction, but that was undone by dropped shots at the 13th and 15th.

And a third double bogey of the day, at the 17th, did more damage.

His second round begins at 5.03pm (GMT).