Ben Kohles holed a four-foot eagle putt at the 18th to complete a bogey-free 9-under 62 and take a two-shot lead after the opening round of the 3M Open.

Emiliano Grillo and PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun joined Gary Woodland at 7-under, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler opened with a 65 in his first competitive round at TPC Twin Cities.

Kohles hit 17 of 18 greens and found 12 of 14 fairways on Thursday. He needed 28 putts to record his lowest score in 354 PGA Tour rounds, improving on the 63 he had posted twice.

The 36-year-old made six birdies between the sixth and 15th holes before attacking the par-five 18th from 241 yards. His approach finished 4 feet, 4 inches from the cup, leaving a short putt for a two-shot advantage.

“I was just in control all day,” Kohles said.

Kohles converts recent form into career-low round

Kohles is seeking his first PGA Tour title in his 122nd start. The five-time Korn Ferry Tour winner won the BMW Charity Pro-Am in June and finished tied third at the John Deere Classic earlier in July, where a double bogey at the final hole left him two shots behind.

“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.

Thursday marked his first 18-hole lead or co-lead in an individual PGA Tour stroke-play event. He previously shared the opening lead with Patton Kizzire in the team-format Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2024.

Kohles began the week 100th in the FedExCup standings with three regular-season events remaining before the playoffs. A victory would project him to 47th, inside the top-70 qualification line. The winner this week receives 500 FedExCup points.

Scheffler recovers from slow start

Scheffler arrived in Minnesota after finishing fourth at The Open Championship. He was 1-under through eight holes but made five birdies across his next eight to complete a bogey-free debut round at the course.

“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,” Scheffler said. “Once I started to hit fairways and gave myself some looks, I was able to start making some birdies.”

Scheffler shares fifth place with Lucas Glover, Michael Brennan, Kevin Roy and Jesper Svensson. Nine players finished within three shots of Kohles.

Koivun’s bogey-free 64 matched his lowest PGA Tour score. The 21-year-old, making his third start as a professional, made four birdies on the front nine before adding three after the turn.

Grillo recorded nine birdies, matching his career high for a round, while Woodland produced his lowest score in 15 rounds at TPC Twin Cities. Defending champion Kurt Kitayama recovered from a triple bogey at the ninth to open with a 3-under 68.

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