MONTREAL

Kyle Stanley takes advantage of prime conditions for early Canadian Open lead

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, July 24, 2014 4:04PM EDT

Kyle Stanley, from the United States, watches his tee shot on the first hole during first round play at the Canadian Open golf championship, Thursday, July 24, 2014 at the Royal Montreal golf club in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

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MONTREAL - Kyle Stanley took advantage of sunny weather and soft greens to take the early clubhouse lead with an opening round of 5-under 65 at the US$5.7 million RBC Canadian Open on Thursday.

Stanley was 5-under over his first nine holes, which was the back nine at Royal Montreal's par-70 Blue Course, and held that score to take the lead with half the field still on the course.

"I love this golf course," the Gig Harbor, Wash., native said. "It's similar to the one I grew up with in Washington, so I felt pretty comfortable.

"I hit the ball well on my first nine today. I was able to make a few of the long range putts that got the round going for me."

Six players were tied at 4-under 66, including Justin Hicks, Charlie Wi, Greg Chalmers, Nick Watney, Robert Allenby and Troy Merritt. Another 10 were at 3-under.

Heavy rains the previous day made for ideal scoring conditions, but Stanley said the 7,153-yard layout is still a challenge.