RALEIGH, North Carolina – Joseph Bramlett carded an opening-round 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead at the REX Hospital Open. Thursday marked the first time Bramlett has held the first-round lead on the Web.com Tour.

Bramlett opened his round Thursday morning with two pars before converting birdies on Nos. 3 and 4. He added birdies on Nos. 7 and 9 to make the turn at 4-under and kept his momentum going throughout the back nine. The 31-year-old tallied birdies on Nos. 10, 14 and 18 to close his bogey-free round at 7-under 64.

“I hit my wedges well and putted it really well today,” said Bramlett, who hit 17 of 18 greens on Thursday. “It’s something I’ve been working really hard on the last couple of weeks. I finally tightened up my wedges and rolled the ball well, and lo and behold, we had a good day.”

Bramlett has made seven cuts in 12 starts this season and is currently ranked 35th in The 25. His 7-under 64 was good for his lowest round of the 2019 season.

“It’s important to play well every week. I got off to a good start today, which is really nice,” said Bramlett. “I’ve worked very hard on my routines this year; I’ve worked hard on my putting in the offseason and I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress there. I took last week off and was very fortunate to go work with my coach for three days. I got to go home and rest a little bit, and now I feel rested and ready to play.”

Bramlett, who is making his fourth start in Raleigh, was a standout at Stanford University. As a freshman in 2007, he was a key piece of the Cardinal team that took home the national championship. Wednesday, he watched as his alma mater claimed another NCAA title over the University of Texas.

“It’s fun to watch your team win a national championship,” he said. “Golf is one of those games that if you’re not careful, you can start beating yourself up quickly. Attitude is something I’ve worked really hard on this year, and I feel that my mental game has always been strong. I’m trying to have a more optimistic view of things this year, and yesterday made that easy to do today.”

Rhein Gibson, Sebastian Cappelen, Marcelo Rozo, Horacio León and Brett Drewitt sit one shot off the pace at 6-under 65.

Rozo is coming off his best finish on the Web.com Tour last week at the inaugural Evans Scholars Invitational. The 29-year-old held the 54-hole lead at The Glen Club, but eventually fell short on the second playoff hole. Despite the defeat, Rozo took away a lot of positives from his runner-up finish and has confidence in his game this week.

“Even though I didn’t get it done last week, I feel like I did,” Rozo said. “I got myself to a playoff, and it was the first time I was leading a tournament going into the final round. I know I’m capable of winning out here on a bigger stage. It’s a matter of believing in yourself at the right time.”

Eight players are currently tied for seventh at 5-under 66: Bo Hoag, Scott Harrington, Rob Oppenheim, Steve LeBrun, Zach Wright, Matthew NeSmith, Conrad Shindler and Charlie Saxon. Shindler, who played on the PGA TOUR last season, earned his only career Web.com Tour victory at the 2017 REX Hospital Open.

Second-round tee times will begin at approximately 6:45 a.m. with players teeing off Nos. 1 & 10.