Things to know

• Seth Reeves opens with an 8-under 64 at Carolina Country Club for the outright 18-hole lead, his third career 18-hole lead/co-lead on the Korn Ferry Tour and first since 2018
• Rhein Gibson, winner of the 2019 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX, opens in 7-under 64 at Thornblade Club, sits one stroke off the lead
• Ryan Gerard cards a 7-under 64 at Thornblade Club, sits inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the fifth time this season

Charting the leader

Seth Reeves (First/8-under)

• Cards an 8-under 64 at Carolina Country Club via seven birdies and one eagle against one bogey
• Plays his final eight holes (Nos. 2-9) in 7-under par
  • Birdies on two par-5s (Nos. 4, 15), three par-4s (Nos. 2, 7, 8) and two par-3s (Nos. 3, 12)
  • Eagles the 515-yard par-5 ninth, lone bogey comes at the par-4 first
• Ties his lowest round of the season (R3/LECOM Suncoast Classic)
• Marks the third 18-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career and first since 2018
  • Held a share of the 18-hole lead at the 2018 Ellie Mae Classic (finished T4) and the 2018 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club (finished T10)
• Making his fourth start at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX
  • Best finish came in 2021 when he finished T13; missed the cut in 2017 and 2018
• In 11 starts this season, has two top-25s, with his best finish being a T10 at the AdventHealth Championship
• Has one Korn Ferry Tour title which came at the 2020 Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse
• Spent two seasons on the PGA TOUR (2018-19 and 2021-22) and made 52 total starts, tallying three top-25s, including two top-10s at the Sanderson Farms Championship (T7/2018, T8/2021)
• Turned professional in 2014 after playing collegiately at Georgia Tech (2010-14) where he earned All-America honors and recorded three individual wins

Quotables

Seth Reeves on the challenge of Carolina Country Club… “I don't feel comfortable on this golf course, honestly. I hadn't even seen the back side, I only played the front yesterday. Played the back side blind. My caddie walked it. It's one of those courses, because it was windy enough where if you miss, it's in the jungle. So you're kind of uptight a little bit off every tee box. You know, I'd just kind of take a deep breath, let it go and, you know, look up, ball's going straight, so I was fine. Yeah, I feel more freed up at Thornblade honestly, but this was just one of those like, ‘Hey, let's get through this place.’”

Reeves on feeling more comfortable at Thornblade Club… “I've played it a good bit now. It just fits my eye I think maybe a little bit more. Doesn't mean I'm going to play just as well. You know, golf's kind of funny like that. I just think I'm more comfortable with it because I've seen it and I know it, so I know that there's space. It doesn't feel as tree-lined and tight.”

Rhein Gibson on what he enjoys about this event… “I just really like it. Tee to green, I think it's a fantastic golf course. Every year we come back here I think it's in better and better shape. So greens are always great, predictable, nice and fast. Yeah, I guess it fits my eye.”

Additional player notes

• Rhein Gibson (T2/7-under), winner of the 2019 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX, cards with a bogey-free 7-under 64 at Thornblade Club
  • Gibson is one of four past champions in the field this week, with the others being 2018 winner Michael Arnaud (T81/1-under), 2016 winner Richy Werenski (T22/4-under) and 2001 winner Jonathan Byrd (T22/4-under)
• Ryan Gerard (T2/7-under) began his first round at Thornblade Club with a birdie-eagle-birdie start on Nos. 1-3, and went on to finish with a 7-under 64 made up of six birdies and two eagles against three bogeys
  • Gerard sits inside the top-10 after 18 holes for the fifth time this season
• Trace Crowe (T4/6-under), making his second start of the Korn Ferry Tour season, opens with a first-round bogey-free 6-under 66 at Carolina Country Club
  • Last December, Crowe earned his first PGA TOUR card via a runner-up finish at Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry; in 12 starts on TOUR this season, he has two top-25 finishes, highlighted by a T11 at the Corales Puntacana Championship
• In his 13th start of the season, Cristobal Del Solar (T4/6-under) cards a 6-under 65 at Thornblade Club and is inside the top-10 after 18 holes for the sixth time this year (finished top-10 in four of the previous five instances)
• Korn Ferry Tour rookie Noah Hofman (T4/6-under) was the last man in the field and recorded a first-round 6-under 66 at Carolina Country Club, his lowest round of the season
  • In five starts this season, Hofman’s best finish is a T60 in the season-opening The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay (MC in four other starts)
• Matt McCarty (T4/6-under), who placed T15 in this event last year, recorded a bogey-free 6-under 65 at Thornblade Club, his second-lowest first-round score of the season (best: 64/117 Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro)
• John Pak (T4/6-under) cards a bogey-free 6-under 66 at Carolina Country Club via four birdies and one eagle at the 553-yard par-5 13th
  • As a senior at Florida State in 2021, Pak swept the three NCAA Division I national player of the year awards (Jack Nicklaus Award, Ben Hogan Award, Fred Haskins Award) and finished No. 1 in the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class of 2021 to earn Korn Ferry Tour status
• Six-time PGA TOUR winner and 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas (T10/5-under), a native of Greenville, South Carolina, opens with a bogey-free 5-under 67 at Carolina Country Club in his first Korn Ferry Tour start since 2022