BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — Ben Kohles eagled the final hole for a 9-under 62 and a two-shot lead Thursday after the first round of the 3M Open, leaving top-ranked Scottie Scheffler three shots back.
Emiliano Grillo, Jackson Koivun and Gary Woodland opened with 64s, and Scheffler topped the group at 65 in his first appearance in the event.
Coming off a fourth-place finish Sunday in the British Open, Scheffler was 1 under through eight holes, then birdied five
of the next eight.
“I didn’t hit a bunch of fairways early, but I was able to kind of manage my way around and get out of some trouble areas without making any bogeys. That was important keeping my momentum going,” he said. “Once I started to hit fairways and gave myself some looks, was able to start making some birdies.”
Kohles’ second shot from 241 yards out on the par-5 finishing hole settled 4 feet from the cup. The short putt capped a career-best round for the 36-year-old who has split the season between the PGA and Korn Ferry tours.
In a nine-hole stretch beginning on No. 6, he birdied every other hole and added another birdie at No. 15 to tie for the lead at 7 under.
“I was just in control all day,” he said.
Three weeks ago, Kohles nearly got his first career win, but a double bogey on the final hole resulted in a third-place finish at the John Deere Classic.
“Of course you would like the outcome to be different, but you’ve just got to keep putting the pedal down and see where you go,” he said.
Koivun birdied four holes on the front nine and three on the back during a bogey-free round at the TPC Twin Cities where scores are traditionally low. In the tournament’s seven previous years, the average winning score was 19 under.
“Playing smart, playing for a score. Just executing when the time is right and getting aggressive when you can,” he said. “Just felt like I did a good job of taking advantage of that today.”
In his 13th tour start, but just third as a professional, 64 is the lowest score in Koivun’s 43 career rounds. The 21-year-old turned professional in June after dominating at Auburn, including a school-record 11 wins.
Grillo made birdie on five of his first seven holes and added three straight birdies starting at No. 12. However, he played the final three holes in 1-over.
“Any day beating Scottie Scheffler is a good day, so I’ll take that,” he said.
Defending champion Kurt Kitayama shot 68.
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