Ben Silverman delivered an impressive performance with 10 birdies and just one bogey, accumulating 19 points to secure a two-point lead over Kelly Kraft in the first round of the US PGA Tour Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California, on Thursday. The Canadian golfer, aiming for his first US PGA Tour title, recovered from an initial bogey at the 10th hole by birdieing seven of his final nine holes, catapulting him to the top of the leaderboard at Tahoe Mountain Club.
On the par-four first hole, his 10th of the day, Silverman's second shot from 191 yards landed within a foot of the hole, setting up an easy birdie. He finished his round with a 22-foot birdie putt at the eighth. Silverman emphasized that he tried not to focus too much on the Modified Stableford scoring system, which awards points for birdies and eagles while subtracting for bogeys. Instead, he concentrated on making birdies and letting the points take care of themselves.
Kelly Kraft also had an early bogey at the second hole but quickly rebounded with an eagle worth five points on the par-five third. He added two more birdies and a bogey on the front nine, followed by five birdies on the back nine. Kraft acknowledged the unusual scoring system but maintained his focus on achieving the lowest score possible.
American Nate Lashley was in third place with 15 points, thanks to a round featuring eight birdies and a bogey. Meanwhile, American Sam Ryder and South Korean S.H. Kim were tied with 14 points each in a tournament held concurrently with the British Open, the final major championship of the year, at Royal Troon in Scotland.
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