Love and Marshall share lead in Edmonton
Edmonton, AB - James Love and Kristoffer Marshall each fired rounds of six-under-par 65 on Thursday to share the first-round lead of the Edmonton Open.
Mexican PGA Championship winner Byron Smith, Alan McLean, Bret Guetz, Calvin Kupeyan, Michael Harris, last week’s ATB Financial Classic champion Mike Grob and two-time winner this year Spencer Levin are knotted in third place at minus-five.
Love flew out of the gate with four birdies over his opening nine at Edmonton Country Club. He tumbled to a bogey at the 12th, but the winner of the Fall Qualifying School had a good run at the end of the round.
Love birdied three in a row from the 15th, including a pair of putts inside six feet at the 16th and 17th.
‘I’ve really been struggling, so it feels great to play some solid golf,’ acknowledged Love. ‘I hit some loose shots on the back side; it was almost like I just wanted to get it in the house. It was pretty key to make a few coming in.’
Marshall, a 27-year-old American, made the turn at three-under-par 32 thanks to four birdies and a bogey at the sixth. On the second nine, Marshall recorded birdies at 10, 12 and 16 to join Love atop the leaderboard.
Greater Vancouver Classic champion James Lepp headlines a group of players tied for 10th place at four-under-par 67.
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