Jacob Bridgeman's late birdie run gives him the lead at the 3M Open

BLAINE, Minn. — Jacob Bridgeman carded his final five holes for an 8-under 63 and a one-stroke lead over Mackenzie Hughes on Thursday after the first round of the 3M Open.

Patrick Rodgers, Martin Trainer and Andrew Novak were two shots back at TPC Twin Cities.

Billy Horschel, who finished second on Sunday in The Open after playing 54 holes, withdrew about an hour early due to illness.

Bridgeman has the lowest score in 23 career events on the PGA Tour. He came out of the bunker for a birdie on the par-3 17th and twice birdied the par-5 18th. The 24-year-old former Clemson player has missed the cut in his last three games.

“I've never really struggled with my confidence until these past few weeks,” Bridgeman said. “I've told a few people that I felt like I'd been kicked in the face.”

Bridgeman went fishing on Sunday, came out on Monday, hit a few balls late on Tuesday and played the Wednesday pro-am. He also talked to his girlfriend, parents and college coach, the latter of whom reminded him that one of his greatest strengths was his mental game.

“He was talking to me about some of the things we did in college, how we got along,” said Bridgeman. “He was always with me, and he was helping me.”

Hughes had a bogey-free round. The Canadian won his second of two PGA Tour titles last year at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

“I knew from the first three or four holes that I had something good going with the putter,” Hughes said. “At that point it was just a matter of making sure I gave myself as many looks as I could and found the green and let the putter do the work. You don't get those days too often when the hole starts to look good. It's great.”

Novak — at No. 84 outside the 70-player cutoff for the playoffs in the FedExCup standings — was 6 under on the back nine.

“Down the line, I have two events left until the playoffs,” Novak said. “So even though I'm playing well, that doesn't matter. I need to go play better.”

Sahith Theegala was 66 with Gary Woodland, Kevin Streelman, Taylor Pendrith, Stewart Cink, Michael Thorbjornsen, Kurt Kitayama and Hayden Springer. Tony Finau, the 2022 champion, shot a 67.

Nick Dunlap shot a 71, a week after winning the Barracuda Championship to become the first player to win a tour event as a novice and a professional in the same season.

Defending champion Lee Hodges, who was looking to secure a spot in the playoffs, had 73 points. He entered the tournament in 71st place and has not finished in the top 10 since winning last year.

Thriston Lawrence, fourth at The Open, shot a 75.