He has missed the cut two races in a row, most recently at the difficult-to-play Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

But now that the PGA Tour has moved on to Blaine in Minnesota, things have started much better for Alex Norén. After the first round, the Swede is four under par and in shared 20th place, four strokes from the lead.

Things have gone worse for Henrik Norlander, who in recent weeks has played well and finished sixth at Muirfield Village. Norlander went around on Thursday on 71 strokes, one under par, and is first found in 57th place.

Large parts of the world elite give up the competition

Two more Swedes, David Chopra and David Lingmerth, participate in the competition. They are both further down the field after 72 and 73 strokes respectively.

Large parts of the world elite have skipped this weekend's competition, to recharge for next weekend's WGC competition in Memphis. So does world number four Dustin Johnson, who withdrew from the competition after back pain and a miserable day on the track (+7).

Leading is the hidden ice Richy Werenski, who is chasing his first victory on the North American professional tour. The 24-year-old went around on 63 strokes and leads with one stroke before Michael Thompson.

Hit holes from 225 meters

Bae Sang-Moon turned in a dismal performance, however. On the 18th hole, the South Korean ended up twice in one of the course's many water obstacles. With 225 meters left, he charged for stroke number five, and from there managed to lower the ball into the hole for par. According to the PGA Tour's website, it's the longest blow to save a couple since at least 2003.

Unfortunately for Bae Sang-Moon, the first 17 holes had not shown such pace, he parks after the first day in place 143.

It was the first major sports competition in Minnesota after the fatal beating of George Floyd on May 25.