Golf: Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, leads inaugural Barbasol Championship

Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, shot a 7-under 64 in warm conditions to take the first-round lead in the inaugural Barbasol Championship on Thursday in Opelika, Alabama.

Saunders saved par with a 15-foot putt on the par-3 eighth and closed with a birdie on the par-4 ninth to cap his bogey-free round on Grand National’s Lake Course.

The 27-year-old player is winless in 45 career starts on the PGA Tour, with a career best tie for second this year in the Puerto Rico Open.

Jason Gore was a stroke back at 65. He birdied four of his last five holes.

Stanford junior Maverick McNealy, the Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the Division I player of the year, was tied for third at 66 along with Martin Flores, Will Wilcox, Carlos Ortiz and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton was in a group at 67.

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 98, opened with a 68.

Spokane native Alex Prugh opened with a 72.

LPGA

South Korea’s Ha Na Jang birdied the par-5 18th for a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

Winless in 23 career tour events, Jang birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine at Highland Meadows, dropped a stroke on the par-4 15th and rallied with the closing birdie.

Nannette Hill, Wei-Ling Hsu, Lee-Anne Pace and Sarah Kemp were tied for second. Kemp bogeyed the final hole to drop out of a tie for the lead.

Top-ranked Inbee Park, a three-time winner this season, birdied her final hole for a 70.

Defending champion Lydia Ko, ranked No. 2 in the world, opened with a 71.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis also had a 71.