Bermuda Championship
Blanchet leads Bermuda Championship with 9-under 62
Chandler Blanchet made two eagles on the way to a 9-under 62 and the first-round lead at the Bermuda Championship.
Chandler Blanchet opened the Bermuda Championship with a 9-under 62 on Thursday, and two eagles drove the score. Per the ESPN report, the round is his best of the year and gives him the first-round lead. Read the full report
The math is simple. Two eagles account for four of the nine shots under par, so the rest of the card was a clean run of birdies. A 62 is also a long way below the typical opening-round number on Tour, which makes it a statement for a player whose season-best had been higher until now.
Two eagles did the heavy lifting.
Context matters here. A Thursday lead is worth only so much. Eighteen holes is a quarter of a standard Tour event, and eagles are high-variance scoring. They are hard to repeat on demand. What Blanchet can carry into Friday is the ball-striking and putting that set up those chances, not the eagles themselves.
Watch the second round for two things. First, whether Blanchet keeps making birdies at a pace close to Thursday's, or whether the field closes in as the leaderboard tightens. Second, how the rest of the field responds to a number this low. A 62 sets a clear target, and chasers often take on more risk to match it.