Chandler Blanchet rides a pair of eagles to a season-best 62 and the lead in Bermuda

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Chandler Blanchet made a pair of eagles, one from 50 feet and the other from 5 feet, to post his best score of the year — a 9-under 62 — and hold a one-shot lead after the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Blanchet, whose best finish this season was on another island in the Puerto Rico Open, added six birdies to his round. His only dropped shot came on the par-4 fourth, his 13th hole of the round, when he missed the green well to the left at Port Royal.

He led by one shot over Ben Kohles, Corey Conners, Danny Walker and Ben Silverman of Canada on a day when the wind was all over the place, from gusty to calm with a few passing showers.

Blanchet is at No. 114 in the FedEx Cup Fall, and points are all that matter this time of the year for so many players. Bermuda is one of five tournaments left in the season, and the top 100 keep full status for 2027.

An example of the wind not hurting as much as it often does at Port Royal came on the par-5 seventh hole as Blanchet was finishing his round.

“The wind was kind of calming down, so it was pretty favorable,” he said. “Hit a smooth 5-iron there to like 5 feet. That was sweet.”

His other eagle came on the 17th, the shortest par 5 but with water lurking to the left.

"Yeah. No. 17, I guess that was my last eagle. I hit a great drive," Blanchet said. He only had about 180 yards in, but left it out far too the right, only to hole the putt from just outside 50 feet.

“Just dripped in on the last revolution,” he said.

Kohles had a chance to sew up his PGA Tour card at No. 19 going into the Korn Ferry Tour Championship (the top 20 earn cards). But he was playing well enough that he went to the Baycurrent Classic in Japan and tied for 17th. Now he's at No. 80, virtually a lock for a card, and now can think about finishing in the top 60 to get into two $20 million signature events.

Kohles made a career-best six straight birdies, all of them in the 6-foot range until the last one, which was about 12 feet.

“It’s pretty nice I think to feel a lot more comfortable,” Kohles said. "Going into the fall it was funny. I obviously decided to play the fall out here and skip the last three Korn Ferrys, and as good as I played on both tours I wasn’t really locked on either one. So, it was really nice to have those three good finishes to start the fall and pretty much secure my top 100 for next year.

“Just feel like I’m just kind of freewheeling and trying to play my best and see where it puts me.”

Mackenzie Hughes and Emiliano Grillo were in the large group of players who shot 64 to wind up two shots back after the first round. Without the consistently blustery wind, the course played to an average score of 68.5.

“The conditions were amazing,” said Conners, who at No. 61, is the highest-ranked player in the field. “The wind blows pretty hard here and it was fairly mild today. The golf course is playing great, it’s in wonderful shape and was really a nice day. A little bit wet early, but for the most part we got really lucky with some pretty pleasant conditions to play in.”

See AP’s full golf coverage here

FILE - Chandler Blanchet hits from the fourth tee during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum,File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, seeking to help Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a tough reelection battle in Maine, is exempting some imports — including plywood sheets, packing crates and some machinery — from the 50% tariffs he slapped on $20 billion worth of Canadian products over the summer. The changes will take effect Oct. 30.

The White House said the president was seeking to offset "the burden to U.S. commerce while better serving the public interest.''

Collins, locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, issued a statement saying she'd spoken with Trump's top trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick "about the toll tariffs are taking on Maine families, businesses, farmers, and growers.''

"Many of our farmers and growers rely on specialized equipment, packaging materials, and other products from Canada that are either unavailable from American suppliers or cannot be replaced without incurring significant expense,” Collins said.

She said she asked for tariff relief for such products “and stressed the burdens additional costs impose on Maine businesses and families.”

Collins said she'd seek "additional relief from tariffs and encourage a broader trade agreement with Canada, our neighbor, ally, and largest trading partner.”

Trump started a trade war with America’s longstanding ally and northern neighbor, reaching back to a Depression-era trade law to impose tariffs on Canadian imports. He charged that Canada discriminates against U.S. dairy, auto and alcoholic beverage producers. Canada promptly lashed back with tariffs of 15% to 50% on American products, matching Trump’s import taxes dollar for dollar.

Trump ratcheted the dispute up from there last month by imposing a flat-out ban on $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.

The U.S. president has claimed that foreign countries pay his tariffs. In fact, U.S. importers do. And they often face the tough choice of having to pass along the higher costs to their customers or absorb them.

As the Nov. 3 midterm elections approach, many Americans are furious about the cost of living. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll of 2,140 U.S. adults, conducted Sept. 24-28, found that 65% now blame Trump’s policies for persistently high prices more than factors outside of his control, signaling weariness over his aggressive use of tariffs and unhappiness with the war with Iran, which has driven up the price of gasoline.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement, “Trump’s desperate, 11th hour attempt to save Susan Collins’ political career is an admission that American voters are rejecting his toxic tariff policies.”

Collins complained that Trump’s levies were hurting Maine farms and businesses that rely on Canadian imports when U.S.-made alternatives are not available. Her office cited the example of Maine wild blueberry growers who need specialized harvesting boxes from Canada that work with their processing equipment.

Sen. Susan Collins speaks to reporters following a campaign stop Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)