Kohles leads 3M Open by 2 after first round

Ben Kohles completed his bogey-free first round with an eagle for a two-stroke lead at 9-under-par 62 on Thursday at the 3M Open in Blaine, Minn.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, making his debut in the tournament at TPC Twin Cities, ​is three shots back, tied for fifth after his bogey-free 65. Scheffler started his round at No. ‌10 and was 2 under on the back nine with birdies at Nos. 12 and 18, then heated up with birdies at Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 7.

"Golf's funny. Some days you're hitting your lines and the line seems to be tracking toward the hole and other days ​it feels like you're doing the same thing and it kind of goes around the hole," Scheffler said, "but today ​was a day in which I was able to hole some nice putts and that's why ⁠I was able to make some birdies out there."

Kohles, 36, is ranked No. 128 in the world and seeking his ​first win on the PGA Tour. He finished tied for third at the John Deere Classic on 5 July.

He birdied Nos. 2, ​6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15, then made eagle with a 4-foot putt on the par-5 18th hole to conclude his career-best round.

"Yeah, it feels great obviously when you can get a low one out early, especially early in the tournament," said Kohles, who has divided this ​season between the PGA and Korn Ferry tours. "I was just in control all day. Honestly, I've played really well here ​the last few years, I really like this golf course. This is a wind that we kind of had most of the time, so ‌just ⁠a comfortable wind so I feel like I'm just comfortable out here. Obviously made some nice putts. Just hit a lot close that I was able to capitalise on."

Kohles ranked first on Thursday in greens in regulation (17 of 18), tied for third in driving accuracy (12 of 14, 85.7%) and ranked 39th in feet of putts made (82 feet, 7 inches).

Jackson Koivun, Gary Woodland and Argentina's ​Emiliano Grillo are tied for ​second after each shot 7-under ⁠64.

"Any day beating Scottie Scheffler is a good day, so I'll take that," said Grillo, who birdied Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14, then lost strokes with ​bogeys at Nos. 16 and 17 before a birdie at 18. "Yeah, got off to a ​good start obviously. ⁠Not often you birdie the first couple holes and I was able to finish with a 4 after a few mistakes there on 16 and 17."

Scheffler is tied at 6 under with Lucas Glover, Michael Brennan, Kevin Roy and Sweden's Jesper Svensson. Scheffler tied ⁠for first ​in scrambling (3-for-3) and sand saves (1-for-1), while he was fourth in feet of putts ​made (134-6).

Defending champion Kurt Kitayama is tied for 26th at 3-under 68. He opened with the first of his seven birdies, including No. 1 and 18, but ​was undermined by a bogey at the par-4 No. 3 and a triple bogey at the par-4 No. 9.