BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — Jacob Bridgeman birdied five of his last seven holes for an 8-under 63 and a one-stroke lead over Mackenzie Hughes on Thursday after the first round of the 3M Open.
Patrick Rodgers, Martin Trainer and Andrew Novak were two shots back at the TPC Twin Cities.
Billy Horschel, coming off a second-place tie Sunday in the British Open after holding the 54-hole lead, withdrew about an hour before his tee time due to illness.
Bridgeman had his lowest score in 23 career events on the PGA Tour. He holed out from a bunker for birdie on the par-3 17th and two-putted the par-5 18th for another birdie. The 24-year-old former Clemson player missed the cut in his last three events.
Hughes had a bogey-free round. The Canadian won the second his two PGA Tour titles last year in the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Novak — at No. 84, above the 70-player cut line for the playoffs in the FedExCup standings — was 6 under on the back nine.
Sahith Theegala was at 66 with Gary Woodland, Kevin Streelman, Taylor Pendrith, Stewart Cink, Michael Thorbjornsen, Kurt Kitayama and Hayden Springer. Tony Finau, the 2022 champion, shot 67.
Nick Dunlap shot 71, a week after winning the Barracuda Championship to become the first player to win a tour event as an amateur and a professional in the same season.
Defending champion Lee Hodges, looking to secure a spot in the playoffs, had a 73, He entered the tournament 71st and hasn’t had a top-10 finish since winning last year.
Thriston Lawrence, fourth at the British Open, shot 75.
