Canadian Mackenzie Hughes converted a front-nine 29 into the first-round lead at the Procore Championship, the start of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall series, on Thursday in Napa, Calif.
Hughes had a potential 59 in his sights as he birdied nine of his first 13 holes, but consecutive bogeys at Nos. 14 and 15 set him back. He got the strokes back with a 36 1/2-foot birdie putt at No. 16 and a 12-footer for birdie at No. 18 to shoot a 9-under-par 63.
Hughes, 34, entered the fall No. 65 in the FedEx Cup standings and needs to finish between No. 51 and No. 60 in order to gain access to the first two signature events of 2026. The top 50 from the past season are already exempt.
Those exemptions didn’t keep many top players away from the North Course at Silverado Resort, as 10 out of 12 members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team entered the tournament in order to get competitive reps in before the international competition later this month.
The lowest among them on Thursday was Ben Griffin, who made five of his eight birdies on the back nine before saving par from 17 feet at the last hole for an 8-under 64. He is tied for second with Matt McCarty.
Russell Henley, an automatic qualifier for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, shot a 65 and is tied for fourth with Lanto Griffin. Anders Albertson was next at 66.
U.S. Open winner J.J. Spaun, another U.S. Ryder Cup player, is part of a group at 67 that also includes amateur Jackson Koivun.
As for the rest of the U.S. Ryder Cup team members participating, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler opened with a 2-under 70. Sam Burns had a 71, and Collin Morikawa, Harris English, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young and Justin Thomas all settled for even-par 72s.
–Field Level Media
