PGA Tour winner Nate Lashley (62) sets early pace at Scottsdale Open

As one might expect, PGA Tour players have risen toward the top of the leaderboard after the opening round of the Scottsdale AZ Open.

The 54-hole event carries a $135,000 purse with $20,000 to the winner, and it has attracted plenty of local starpower with major professional circuits still shuttered until at least next month. Setting the early pace is recent PGA Tour winner Nate Lashley, who opened up a one-shot lead after shooting an 8-under 62 at Talking Stick Golf Club.

Lashley earned his breakthrough victory last summer at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and he’s expected to make his Masters debut in November as a result. His bogey-free round included six birdies to go along with an eagle on the par-5 second hole, and he sits one shot clear of Zach Smith among a 162-man field.

“I’m very pleasantly surprised. I haven’t really been playing,” Lashley told Golf.com. “It just feels good to be out here again, competing.”

But Lashley wasn’t the only Tour veteran to get off to a strong start. Pre-tournament favorite Joel Dahmen, who won this event in 2017 and fired a 58 during a casual round last week, sits in fourth after shooting a 65. Tied with Dahmen at 5 under are Kevin Streelman, who has won twice on Tour, and Colt Knost, a former U.S. Amateur champ who retired from Tour competition after this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.

PGA Tour Champions veteran Kirk Triplett opened with an even-par 70, as did recent Arizona mini-tour winners Calum Hill and Alex Cejka.