WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Canada — Derek Oland made quick work of his first round in the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open. That’s just how the former Midwestern State standout plays the game.

“I always get comments. I’m a super-quick player. I just get comfortable over the ball really quick,” Oland said. “I think sometimes it can hurt when I’m not playing well. I think I get a little quick. But when I’m playing well, I’m just in a groove.”

Oland was groovy Friday. He fired an 8-under 64 for an early clubhouse lead after teeing off at 7:40 a.m. His lead held up throughout the day, as he leads fellow Americans Mitchell Schow and Parker Coody by a stroke.

“It’s one of those things I don’t realize how quick I’m swinging or playing or whatever until some guy in my group or someone says something about it,” Oland explained. “When I’m over the ball, it’s usually two looks and I’m comfortable and then pull the trigger. No need to waste any time.”

The 30-year-old from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, accelerated his play after some early trouble. He hit his ball in the water on No. 2 and wound up with a bogey. After that, Oland racked up nine birdies—including a run of five consecutive on the back nine, starting at No. 12.

Oland said he went from not feeling great about his swing early on to figuring things out as the day progressed. “I’ve been struggling with my swing a little bit. I’m a drawer of the ball, and I’ve been leaning back on it. I hit a terrible shot on two. From there, I felt like I was going to hit cuts the rest of the day,” he explained. “It was a good day.”

Schow also had a nice birdie streak, making three in a row to finish his day, racking up eight birdies overall and finishing at 7-under.

“It was nice to get out and play,” Schow said. “The course held up really well after all the weather that we got. Yesterday I came out and got lunch and it was looking like a swamp.”

Heavy rainfall at the Southwood Golf and Country Club led to a first-round postponement Thursday. Despite losing a day, tournament officials are hopeful to get back on track with the second round Saturday and then 18 or 36 holes (depending on the size of the cut) for Sunday’s final round.

Gavin Hall, who is two shots behind Oland, insists the schedule change doesn’t really matter.

“With the season we’ve had, it’s been a lot of stop and go with the rain and stuff like that. So, I feel like anytime you can just get on the golf course you just want to take advantage,” he said. “You don’t know how the season is going to hold up. So, you just want to put the gas pedal on and keep chasing those leaders.”

Hall is tied for fourth with Monday qualifier Daniel Hudson, Brad Reeves and Joey Savoie.

Did you know tournament leaderDerek Oland joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020? He has played in six events at that level but has only made the cut once. In four PGA TOUR Canada tournaments this season, Oland advanced to weekend play three times. His top finish this season is a tie for 11th at the Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Ontario Open.

Key Information

How the top Canadians fared

Joey Savoie (Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec) and Wil Bateman (Edmonton, Alberta) are the leaders among the Canadians in the field. Savoie is tied for fourth, while Bateman is a stroke back of Savoie and tied for eighth. Fifteen total Canadians posted under-par scores in the first round.

Fortinet Cup Standings

(Through Quebec Open)

After leading the Quebec Open from wire to wire, Ryan Gerard’s streak of consecutive rounds in the lead came to an end Friday. Gerard finished at 1-under and is seven strokes off the lead.

If the opening round in Winnipeg is any indication, PGA TOUR Canada may be crowning its seventh different champion of the season. There has yet to be a two-time winner. Through 18 holes, the best-performing previous tournament champion is Wil Bateman (ATB Classic presented by Volvo Edmonton). The Canadian is at 5-under. Scott Stevens (Royal Beach Victoria Open) is right behind him, at 4-under. Fortinet Cup points leader Danny Walker (Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos - CBM Aggregates) finished at 1-under, while Brian Carlson (Prince Edward Island Open presented by IMB Solutions) and Noah Goodwin (Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Ontario Open) are 1-over and 2-over, respectively.

Two-time NHL All-star Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets, who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, is tied for 149th place after an opening-round 78. Double bogeys on No. 15 and No. 16 proved costly in a round that featured three birdies. He enters the second round at 6-over. Scheifele is one of three amateurs in the field. VirajGarewal had the best showing Friday, shooting a 2-under 70, good for a tie for 51st. Canadian BraxtonKuntz began the tournament with a 71. He’s tied for 70th.

Former University of Kansas star Daniel Hudson leads the Monday qualifiers at 6-under, just two strokes off the lead. This is his PGA TOUR Canada debut this season. A year ago, Hudson played in eight Forme Tour tournaments. He had six PGA TOUR Canada starts between 2018 and 2019. Sarosh Adi (4-under) and Roman Timmerman (2-under) are the other two Monday qualifiers with under-par rounds. The additional five qualifiers failed to reach par: Colwyn Abgrall (2-over), Nicholas Infanti (2-over), Marc Bourgeois (3-over), Kade Johnson (4-over) and Shuai Ming Wong (5-over)

It took time but University of Arizona alum Brad Reeves stormed into contention with a late flurry. After shooting 1-over on the front nine, he birdied five of the final nine holes to finish tied for fourth, at 6-under. “I got off to a slow start. I missed my first three greens then kind of got into a groove, especially on the back nine,” Reeves said.

A couple of groups late in the day played well together. ParkerCoody is tied for second, thanks to his 7-under 65. Playing partner DavidPastore fired a 5-under 67 and JonathanHardee was at 2-under, giving the threesome a 14-under cumulative score. A stroke behind that was the grouping of WilBateman, EricLilleboe and WochengYe. They combined to shoot 13-under as a group, with Bateman leading the way with a 5-under 67 and Lilleboe and Ye both turning in 4-under 68s.

The par-4 seventh hole played as the first-round’s most-difficult, with a 4.439 scoring average. Only six players made birdie there Friday. The par-5 13th was the easiest hole. Its stroke average came in at 4.258, with only seven players making bogey or worse, while 137 had either a birdie or an eagle.

Quotable

“It was nice to get off to a good start. I’m happy with the way I played today.” — Derek Oland

“Overall, it was pretty good. That one three-putt on 17 was not the best. But other than that it was a solid day of golf. If you told me I’d shoot 65 at the start of the day, I would take it, especially in the afternoon.” — Parker Coody

“It was a good day. Really clean. I thought I took care of the par-5s, which I need to do to play well.” — Gavin Hall

“The fairways don’t roll out as much, and it was windy. The two practice rounds that I played there was not very much wind. So, a few different lines to hit off the tees and stuff like that.” — Mitchell Schow

“The crew has done an amazing job. I talked to somebody [Thursday] and they were saying they had 15 pumps out on the golf course overnight. For how much rain they got on Monday and [Thursday] it’s in great shape.” — Brad Reeves on the course’s conditioning

“The season is definitely winding down. I’m still trying to get my Korn Ferry (Tour) card through here, so there has been a sense of urgency with the tournaments winding down. I’m off to a good start.” — Parker Coody

“I was teeing off on 18, and they were playing AC/DC. And who doesn’t love a little AC/DC going on in their backswing.” — Mitchell Schow after making a birdie on 17 and the subsequent celebration that took place on the designated “party” hole this week

First-Round Weather: Sunny and mild, with a high of 22. Wind variable at 4-7 kph, with gusts to 10 kph in the afternoon.