TORONTO - Wyndham Clark was the clubhouse leader at 7-under 63 early in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open.

The American's bogey-free round put him in a solid position on Thursday before half the field had even teed off.

“I haven't shot a low one in a while,” said Clark. “I've had a couple under par, 3, 4-under pars in my last few events, but really felt like I left a lot of shots out there.

“This round I maximized pretty much everything out there.”

Matt Fitzpatrick sat second, a shot behind Clark, at Canada's national men's golf championship. Doug Ghim was third at 5 under

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., was the low Canadian after morning play, tied for fourth at 4 under. Hughes was tied with Tony Finau, Lee Hodges and defending champion Rory McIlroy.

“Any tournament, you're kind of working yourself into it on Thursday,” said Hughes. “You can't win on Thursday, but you can play your way out of it.”

Even as players and fans celebrated the return of the Canadian Open - it was cancelled the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic - controversy dogged the event.

The LIV Golf Invitational, which hopes to supplant the PGA Tour as the top men's golf circuit in the world is hosting its first event this week at the Centurion Club outside London, England. The Saudi-backed league is offering large sums of guaranteed money to some of the biggest names in men's golf.

Dustin Johnson, the 2018 Canadian Open champion, is the biggest name to defect. He resigned his PGA Tour membership on Tuesday. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced Thursday morning that anyone who jumps ship to the upstart league will no longer be eligible for PGA Tour events.

The ban includes participation in the Presidents Cup, for which the International team is determined by the world ranking. Monahan said in a memo sent to tour members that even if players resigned ahead of the first LIV Golf Invitational outside London, they will not be allowed to play PGA Tour events as a non-member by getting a sponsor exemption.

“I'm pleased. I think anybody that's shocked clearly hasn't been listening to the message that Jay and everybody's been putting out,” said world No. 6 Justin Thomas at St. George's after shooting a 1-under 69. “They took that risk going into it, whether they thought it was a risk or not.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2022.