Ben Martin took a slender two-point lead at the Barracuda Championship after scoring 16 points in his opening round at Tahoe Mountain Club.
The Barracuda Championship is the only event on the PGA TOUR or DP World Tour schedule which uses the Modified Stableford scoring system, with players receiving two points for a birdie, five for an eagle and eight for an albatross, and deducted one point for a bogey and three for a double.
Martin, whose last PGA TOUR victory was 11 years ago at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, carded nine birdies and two bogeys in his round of 64, totalling 16 points. He sits two points ahead of compatriots David Lipsky and Nick Watney who both scored 14 points.
Watney is a five-time PGA TOUR winner, his last victory coming at The Barclays in 2012, while Lipsky has won twice on the DP World Tour – the 2014 Omega European Masters and the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Championship.
DP World Tour members Todd Clements and Dale Whitnell are among those in a share of fourth place after the opening round, scoring 13 points. They are joined in fourth place by Cameron Champ, Joel Dahmen, Rico Hoey and Danny Walker.
