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Kokrak trails field by three strokes

DETROIT — Warren native Jason Kokrak shot a 6-under 66 at the Detroit Golf Club to put himself three strokes off the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the PGA Tour’s first event in Detroit.

Kokrak is tied with 12 other players for 11th place.

Nate Lashley leads the field after one round with a 9-under 63.

Kokrak, a John F. Kennedy High School graduate and former Ohio High School Athletic Association state champion, made an eagle on the No. 14, a par 5, while making birdies on No. 3 (par 4), No. 4 (par 5), No. 11 (par 3), No. 13 (par 4), No. 14 (par 5) and No. 18 (par 4).

The Xavier University gradate made bogeys on No. 9 and No. 12, a pair of par 4s.

Kokrak tees off today at 6:55 a.m., on No. 1 with Byeong Hun An and Sungjae Im.

Lashley birdied the final three holes and five of the last six holes.

The 36-year-old Lashley had the lowest score in his PGA Tour career, a day after getting a spot at Detroit Golf Club as an alternate. Ranked 353rd in the world and No. 132 in the FedEx Cup standings, Lashley’s only top-10 finish in his two-year PGA Tour career is a tie for eighth in the Puerto Rico Open in February.

Ryan Armour and Nick Watney were at stroke back at 64. Chez Reavie , the Travelers Championship winner last week in Connecticut, and Charles Howell III and Stewart Cink topped the group at 65.

Dustin Johnson, the second-ranked player in the world, opened with a 71. Gary Woodland had a 73 in his first start since winning the U.S. Open.

Lashley made the most of the opportunity with a bogey-free round, taking advantage of scoring opportunities during a day with little wind on a short course with receptive greens. He opened with a birdie and had three more on the front nine before the closing spree.

Lashley, who is from Nebraska, had a knee injury last year that stunted his rookie season on the PGA Tour after 17 events. There’s no chance he can afford to be comfortable with the early lead.

Johnson provided proof the Donald Ross-designed course can present a challenge. The only top-10 player in the field ranked in the middle of the pack off the tee, missing five of 14 fairways. He was among the worst on approach shots, leaving him 33-plus feet away from the pin on average.

Johnson was 2 over at No. 11 after his second double bogey before rallying with three birdies over the last five holes.

Woodland was strong late in the first round after failing to maintain any momentum from winning the first major of his career. He tied a U.S. Open record by making just four bogeys over four rounds at Pebble Beach and had that many bogeys in a four-hole stretch at Detroit Golf Club and a total of six. After falling to 5 over through 11 holes, he had four birdies over the last six to finish with a 73.

Reavie, meanwhile, picked up where he left off after winning for his first win in 11 years. He had a 4-under 32 on the front nine and was 3 under on the back, including an eagle on the 582-yard, par-5 17th.

Defending champ David Toms shoots 62 at US Senior Open: SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Defending champion David Toms shot an 8-under 62 in the first round of the 40th U.S. Senior Open for the early lead.

He finished with 10 birdies and two bogeys on the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame. The 52-year-old Toms was two shots ahead of Kirk Triplett and three up on Vijay Singh. The course was wet after overnight rain.

Toms finished his round with four straight birdies for a 29.

The course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is only the second university public course to host a United State Golf Association event.

Singh started his bogeyless round of 65 with birdies on the opening three holes. Retief Goosen and Miguel Angel Jimenez were another stroke behind among the early players.

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