Rod SpittleCharlie Neibergall
Rod Spittle is one stroke off the lead after shooting an opening round 65 at the 3M Championship in Minnesota.
The Niagara Falls, Ont., golfer posted a bogey-free round of 7-under par to trail first round co-leaders Jay Haas and John Huston. Both opened with a 64 to sit atop the leaderboard at 8-under par.
Haas aced the fourth hole and finished with four straight birdies while Huston birdied five of his final nine holes.
Gary Hallberg, Tom Lehman and Peter Senior joined Spittle one shot back while Mark Calcavecchia, Dave Eger, Kenny Perry and Joey Sindelar were at 66.
Jim Rutledge of Victoria, B.C., who shot 63 in the Monday qualifier to earn his way into the tournament, opened with an even par 72.
With temperatures in the mid-80s and little wind, 53 of the 80 players finished under par.
Because of the nearly two inches of rain received in the past week, the only complaint was that balls hit off the tee would stick in the damp fairway and leave mud on the ball, reducing the player's ability to control a second shot.