Charley Hoffman shot a bogey-free 65 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge.
The 47-year-old American made the most of the windy conditions at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, birdieing two of his first three holes to get off to a good start.
He added more birdies at the eighth, 11th and 13th to take the lead ahead of compatriots Davis Riley, Brian Harman and Tony Finau, Scotland’s Martin Laird and South Korea’s SH Kim.
Charley Hoffman finished the first day of the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge with a one-shot lead
Scottie Scheffler, meanwhile, struggled to make an impact, finishing seventh behind Hoffman with a two-over-par 72, his first over-par round of the season. He also recorded his first triple bogey of the year after finding water on the tee at the par-three 13th.
The world number 1 had played 41 consecutive rounds no worse than par before the third round of last week’s PGA Championship, the day after he was arrested on his way to the course for failing to follow police orders to the result of a previous unrelated fatal collision.
Laird and Open champion Harman were also, like Hoffman, bogey-free, while Englishman Callum Tarren was among those a shot further back at three under as Justin Rose opened with a level par 70.
“I saw the scores weren’t getting too low, I knew I didn’t need to be too aggressive,” Hoffman said.
“I knew the greens were firm, the wind started to pick up halfway through the round. I would say it was a little easy five under, which is good, it’s not always like that, but it’s was not very stressful.”
Hoffman has four PGA Tour victories to his name, but none since April 2016.
England’s Bland shares lead on senior major championship debut
Richard Bland makes his senior major championship debut this week
Englishman Richard Bland took a break from LIV Golf to make a positive start to his senior major championship debut at the Senior PGA Championship, shooting a seven-under 64 to share the lead with Australian Richard Green.
Green set the tone in the morning, recording three birdies and an eagle, and Bland had a chance to take the lead in the afternoon, but had to fight for a par on the eighth hole after a wayward tee shot, and failed to birdie the par-five ninth for the lead.
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The PGA of America offers a one-time exemption to anyone who has won on the DP World Tour in the past five years; Bland became a winner for the first time at the 2021 British Masters at the age of 48.
The Englishman was unable to benefit from the exemption last year because the Senior PGA took place the same week as the LIV Golf Bedminster in New Jersey.
“I’m very grateful for the invitation and I hope I can do something with it,” Bland said.
Bland and Green are two shots ahead of a group that includes defending champion Steve Stricker.
Continue to watch the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge live on Sky Sports Golf on Friday from 5 p.m.
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