The first round was suspended due to darkness at 5:31 p.m. ET and will resume Monday at 7 a.m. with 36 players needing to complete the first round. Second-round tee times will be delayed by 30 minutes.

Charting the leader (stats entering week)

Ben Taylor (First/-6 through 15)

• Follows 2-under 34 on the front nine with four consecutive birdies to begin the back nine, giving him a one-stroke lead with three holes remaining in his opening round
• Only previous 18-hole lead/co-lead on Tour came at the 2025 AdventHealth Championship (T1/finished T3)
• Finished No. 60 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earning full status for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Season after playing the 2022-23 and 2024 seasons on the PGA TOUR, highlighted by a No. 85 finish in the 2023 FedExCup Fall standings
• Two-time Korn Ferry Tour graduate (2019, 2022)
• Won the 2018 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in his second season on the Korn Ferry Tour
• Turned professional in 2015 and played the 2016 season on PGA TOUR Canada, followed by three consecutive seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour (2017, 2018, 2019)
• Played two seasons at Nova Southeastern University (2011-13), leading the Sharks to the 2012 NCAA Division II national title and earning the 2012 Jack Nicklaus Award (Division II); he transferred to Louisiana State University for his final two seasons of eligibility (2013-15) and helped the Tigers win the 2015 NCAA Championship

Additional notes

• Three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Taylor Dickson (T33/-1), who, with his victory at the 2026 season-opening The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island, became the second player in Korn Ferry Tour history to win a 72-hole tournament without making a bogey or worse, played the first 15 holes of the first round without a bogey; his bogey-free streak of 87 holes ended after a bogey at the par-4 16th.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Hayden Buckley (T2/-5), a Class of 2021 Korn Ferry Tour graduate who played the last four seasons on the PGA TOUR, is in line to match his career-high 18-hole position on the Korn Ferry Tour (2021 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron; 2021 Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin).
• Barend Botha (T2/-5), who finished T22 at the 2026 season-opening The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island after a No. 28 finish on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie, cards a bogey-free, 5-under 67.
• Nick Gabrelcik (T2/-5), who finished T39 at the 2026 season-opening The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island after a No. 54 finish on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List in his first full season on Tour, opens with a 5-under 67.
• Doc Redman (T2/-5), who regained conditional status for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Season with a T34 finish at Final Stage of 2025 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, cards 5-under 67 despite a double bogey on the par-5 18th; he returned from a three-month absence in the middle of 2025 and finished No. 138 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, though he competed in three FedExCup Fall events and recorded top-20 finishes in each start (T9/Sanderson Farms Championship, T20/Bank of Utah Championship, T18/The RSM Classic).
• Blades Brown (T6/-4), an 18-year-old professional who earned full status for the 2026 season with a No. 68 finish on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, opens with a 4-under 68, making six birdies to overcome a double bogey at the par-4 12th; he will compete on the PGA TOUR next week as a sponsor exemption at The American Express.
• Brandon Harkins (T23/-2), who won the 2022 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, opens in 2-under 70; he begins the 2026 season deep down the Priority Ranking in the “Past Champion 5-10 Years” category, and he is in the field this week by virtue of his 2022 victory.