RSM Classic: Canadian Hughes leads with 61

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes, a PGA Tour rookie, made a run at shooting 59 in the first round of the RSM Classic on Thursday, but settled for a nine-under par 61 and the first-round lead.

Hughes, a web.com Tour graduate, had nine birdies and no bogeys on the Seaside Course at the Sea Island Resort in Sea Island, Ga. He parred his final three holes.

“It was one of those days where everything was kind of clicking and was going right,” Hughes said. “Toward the end there I had a chance to shoot 59 and I was thinking about it, but came up a couple short. But it was a great day.”

Stewart Cink, meanwhile, opened with an eight-under 62 that included a bogey on his last hole. Cink, 43, has had two top-15 finishes in three starts in this new season.

Jonathan Byrd, a resident of Sea Island, also shot a 62 on the Seaside Course. Cameron Tringale, Kyle Stanley and Hiroshi Iwata had the low rounds on the Plantation Course, seven-under par 65s.

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