Butterfield Bermuda Championship Round 1: Chandler Blanchet Rides Two Eagles to a 62

Port Royal is supposed to be the place where the wind decides who gets to have a good week. On Thursday the wind took a long lunch, and Chandler Blanchet made the most of every quiet minute.

Blanchet shot a 9-under 62 at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, his best score of the season, to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Four players sit one back at 8-under 63: Ben Kohles, Corey Conners, Danny Walker and Ben Silverman. Mackenzie Hughes, Emiliano Grillo and Chan Kim headlined a crowded group at 64, and the field averaged 68.5 on a par-71 layout that rarely gives up numbers like that.

Two Eagles and a Ghost Putt

Blanchet's card had a little of everything. Six birdies, one bogey and two eagles, and the eagles were bookends of opposite flavors.

The first came at the par-5 seventh, where Blanchet caught the breeze at the right moment and flushed a 5-iron to about 5 feet. "The wind was kind of calming down, so it was pretty favorable," he said, per the AP. "Hit a smooth 5-iron there to like 5 feet. That was sweet."

The second one was pure theater. At the 17th, Blanchet's drive drifted well right and left him roughly 180 yards in from an awkward angle. He found the green, then rolled in an eagle putt from just outside 50 feet that seemed to think about stopping on the lip before it toppled in. "Just dripped in on the last revolution," he said.

The lone blemish came at the par-4 fourth, where he missed the green well left and could not get up and down. On a day this gentle, that was the only real mistake he made.

The Stakes Are Personal

This is the part of the calendar where every shot carries a mortgage payment. The FedExCup Fall is about status, and only the top 100 at the end of it keep full cards for 2027. Bermuda is one of five events left.

Blanchet arrived at No. 114. His best finish of the season came back at the Puerto Rico Open. A 62 on Thursday does not change his standing by itself, but it puts him in position to do something about it over the next three days, which is exactly what a player outside the number needs.

Kohles Goes Freewheeling

Kohles had the most entertaining scorecard of the day. He ran off six straight birdies, a career best on the PGA TOUR, with five of them from around 6 feet and the last from about 12. Golf Channel counted 11 birdies in all, which tells you there was some damage elsewhere, but the final number was a 63 and a tie for second.

The interesting part is the mindset. Kohles came into the week at No. 80 in the standings, virtually safe for next season, and has eyes on the top 60, which would unlock two of next year's $20 million Signature Events. Before this run, Kohles had been No. 19 on the Korn Ferry Tour heading into its finale, then skipped the last three events there and tied for 17th at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan.

"Just feel like I'm just kind of freewheeling and trying to play my best and see where it puts me," Kohles said.

Conners Takes What Was Offered

Conners is the biggest name on this leaderboard. At No. 61 in the standings, the Canadian is the highest-ranked player in the field and played like it, putting together a bogey-free 63, per Golf Channel.

What stood out was how candid Conners was about the conditions. Port Royal usually makes players pay for every loose swing, and Thursday it simply did not.

"The wind blows pretty hard here and it was fairly mild today," Conners said. "The golf course is playing great, it's in wonderful shape and was really a nice day."

Silverman gave Canada a second name at 63, and Hughes made it three Canadians within two shots of the lead with a 64. Walker rounded out the group one back.

The Chase Pack Has Some Juice

Look a little further down and the names get interesting. Austin Smotherman, making his first start since winning the Bank of Utah Championship for his first PGA TOUR title, opened with a 65 and sits three back alongside Taylor Moore, Brice Garnett, Zac Blair and Eric Cole. Chris Kirk and Seamus Power posted 66s. Power came to Bermuda at No. 103 in the standings, just on the wrong side of the line, so every shot this week carries weight.

Grillo and Kim matched Hughes at 64. Not everyone got a free ride, though. Davis Thompson and Adam Hadwin, who led this event after each of the first two rounds a year ago, opened with 72 and 71, already 10 and 9 shots off the pace.

What Friday Brings

The forecast is the real question. The wind was described as all over the place on Thursday, gusty at times and dead calm at others, with a few passing showers and some early wetness. Port Royal rarely stays this friendly for long, and the guys who went low on day one know they banked strokes they may not see again.

Friday also brings the cut, which turns the mood of the leaderboard from opportunity to survival for half the field. Blanchet has a one-shot cushion and the best round of his year in his pocket. Behind him are a hot Kohles, a steady Conners, and a pack of card-hunters who know a quiet morning is a gift.

More detail is in the PGA TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (AP Round 1 recap), AP, TSN, Golf Channel, ESPN leaderboard. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.