Fueled by a hole-in-one on the 154-yard 16th hole, Zach Pollo (Rocklin, California) carded a 9-under 61 at Blackhawk Golf Club and leads by one after Thursday’s first round of the ATB Classic presented by Building Trades of Alberta.
After four seasons at the University of Arizona, Pollo earned membership this season by finishing No. 18 in the PGA Tour University Class of 2026. Since turning pro in June, Pollo has three made cuts in seven starts and entered the week No. 139 on the points list, outside the top 60 players who will qualify for the season-ending Dominican Republic Tour Championship presented by Scotiabank.
In a tie for second at 8-under is open qualifier Devon Bling (Ridgecrest, California), who is making his first start of the season, and Corey Pereira (Sacramento, California). Pereira is coming off back-to-back fifth-place finishes at the CRMC Championship and Digital Commerce Group Open to solidify his No. 3 position on the PGA Tour Americas Points List.
In 2018, as a 23-year-old in his second season on PGA Tour Canada, Pereira won the ATB Classic at Country Hills Golf Club in Calgary for his first professional victory. He went on to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2019 season, and did so again for 2022, and he’s looking to return in 2027 by finishing in the top 10 of this season’s points list.
A week after carding a PGA Tour Americas record 12-under 58 in the third round en route to a T5 finish at the Digital Commerce Group Open, Kyle Cottam (Knoxville, Tennessee) opened with a 7-under 63 and is fourth.
Competing on the golf course he grew up playing, Wil Bateman (Edmonton, Alberta) shot 64 in his first Tour-sanctioned start since May on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished the day tied for fifth with Brady McKinlay (Lacombe, Alberta), Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah), and Justin Biwer (San Diego, California)
Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:48 p.m. MT, with only one threesome left to complete the opening round. They will resume play on 18 at 8:30 a.m. Friday, and the second round will begin as scheduled (7:15 a.m.).
