Max Greyserman and Eric Cole both shot 7-under-par 64 to share the lead after the opening round of the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in North Carolina on Thursday, the first of eight FedExCup Fall events that will decide which players keep full PGA Tour status for 2027.
Greyserman, who arrived in Asheville 103rd in the FedExCup standings after five weeks away from competition, made eight birdies, including four in a row from the seventh to the tenth, on a course softened by heavy rain that forced officials to apply lift, clean and place rules. A win this week would lift the 31-year-old to 51st in the standings. “Maybe that’s key. Don’t practice and just have a good time,” he said of his break.
Cole, 38, also made eight birdies and holed 109 feet of putts, including a 21-footer at the first, but dropped his only shot of the day at his final hole after finding trouble off the tee. Already 49th in the FedExCup, Cole has secured his card and his place in next year’s signature events.
Chris Kirk, Ben Kohles, Jackson Suber, Peter Malnati and Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes sit one shot back on 65, with Pierceson Coody, Jacob Bridgeman, Cam Davis and Seamus Power a further stroke behind on 66. The tournament is the PGA Tour’s first visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains since Ben Hogan won in Asheville in 1942.
Seven members of the Presidents Cup teams are in the field as a final tune-up before the match against the International side at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, which starts on Thursday, September 24 and runs until Sunday, September 27. The Biltmore Championship concludes on Sunday, September 20.
