Safeway Open 2020: Russell Knox Leads at 9 Under After Round 1

Russell Knox is pacing the field through the first round of the 2020 Safeway Open at Silverado Country Club in Napa, California.

Knox went nine under on Thursday to build a one-shot lead on Sam Burns, Cameron Percy and Bo Hoag.

Safeway Open Leaderboard

1. Russell Knox (-9)

T2. Sam Burns (-8)

T2. Cameron Percy (-8)

T2. Bo Hoag (-8) 

T5. Brendan Steele (-7)

T5. Pat Perez (-7)

T7. Tom Hoge (-6)

T7. Scott Harrington (-6)

T7. Akshay Bhatia (-6)

T7. Andy Zhang (-6)

Full leaderboard available at PGATour.com

The Tour Championship concluded Monday, and the U.S. Open tees off Sept. 17. As a result, a number of marquee stars didn't make the trip to Northern California. That sets up what should be a wide-open tournament.

Knox was five under on the front nine thanks in large part to a red-hot three-hole stretch. He birdied Nos. 4 and 6 with an eagle on No. 5 wedged in between. Birdies on the ninth and tenth holes were the ideal way to make the turn.

Knox capped off his round with a birdie on the par-five 18th hole. He recovered nicely after sending his approach into the rough, getting on the green in three and watching his chip roll within four feet of the cup.

Burns did his best to keep pace and might have were it not for a bogey on No. 17. He eagled No. 16 to get to eight under and looked to be in a good position to par or potentially birdie the 17th after getting on the green in two. Three putts later, however, he fell back to seven under.

Percy was a model of consistency, carding eight birdies over 18 holes. According to PGATour.com, he reached all but one green in regulation.

Pat Perez and Bo Hoag were both primed to make a run at Knox after going five under on the front nine. Their momentum stalled a bit over the remainder of the round, though late birdies allowed them to end their day on a high note.

Hoag claimed a share of second place with his birdie putt on No. 9.

Akshay Bhatia has made six appearances on the PGA Tour and failed to make the cut in each event. The 18-year-old is a good bet to continue playing through the weekend thanks to his opening-round performance.

Granted, the first round generally hasn't been his issue.

Bhatia's average score climbed from 70 in Round 1 to 73 in Round 2 through those six tournaments during the 2020 season.

He remains in a more enviable position than a number of Tour stalwarts. Phil Mickelson (one under), Jordan Spieth (one over) and Sergio Garcia (even) are all in danger of missing the cut. The middle portion of the tournament is so compact that simply avoiding any critical errors could be enough for them to stay above the cut line Friday.