He had three straight birdies on the front nine and finished his round with 12 straight pars. Brown was tied for 117th place, 10 shots behind leader JT Poston after the first round. The cut will be made after Saturday's third round and the top 65 plus ties will make Sunday's final round.

A stampede up the leaderboard, led by J.T. Poston’s 10-under 62 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, signaled business as usual for The American Express.

J.T. Poston shot a 10-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead over Justin Lower in the opening round of The American Express on Thursday. Poston carded nine birdies and an eagle on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West in the Palm Springs-area desert.

Under a nonprosecution agreement the company is to pay a $77.6 million fine and forfeit $60.7 million for the revenue that could have been owed from its Payroll Rewards and Premium Wire programs.

The New York-based financial giant provided inaccurate tax advice to customers and potential customers on wire products primarily marketed at small and mid-size businesses, federal prosecutors

The Wall Street Journal had reported on a series of deceptive and strong-arm tactics the card company used to increase small business sign-ups.