Tom Lehman striped his tee shot down the first fairway just after noon Friday and so began his mission at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.
Head down. Ready to work.
The crammed gallery situated on an adjacent hill offered encouragement with hardly a reaction from Lehman as he made his way off the tee box.
"Go Gophers!" someone yelled.
That got a head nod from Minnesota's own, as if he knew what was to come.
Five hours later there were more, louder cheers when Lehman came within a foot of a chip-in eagle on the 18th hole. He tapped in for the last of three straight birdies to close out an opening-round 8-under 64 at the 3M Championship, the leader by three over P.H. Horgan III, Grant Waite and Scott Dunlap.
The three-shot advantage is the largest after Round 1 in tournament history.
"I felt very comfortable here at home again," Lehman said after signing a bogey-free scorecard. "I look forward to this so much. I miss the Minnesota culture. Just a great place to live and people to interact with. It's nice to get back to your roots."