X factor MacKenzie has Greensboro lead with 64

Will MacKenzie would be a natural for the X Games. Now he’s out to prove there’s room for a kayaking, snowboarding surfer in the sometimes stuffy world of golf.

MacKenzie shot an eight-under-par 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Lucas Glover, Steve Marino, Brian Davis and Jeff Overton after the first round of the Wyndham Championship at Greensboro, N.C.

MacKenzie, who spent more than a decade away from the sport, nearly made a hole in one and had nine birdies to offset one bogey in taking an encouraging first step toward the second victory of his career.

“People might think that since I quit golf for a while and lived the life of an outdoor enthusiast that, you know, I break the mold, and I’m sure I do,” MacKenzie said. “I want my peers to respect me as a golfer, and I think most of them do, but [I] also like to cheer them up a little bit and do silly things like stand on my head from time to time because that’s what I like to do.”

Seven players -- Carl Pettersson, John Merrick, Todd Hamilton, Todd Fischer, Greg Kraft, John Huston and 2003 winner Shigeki Maruyama -- were two strokes back on a steamy day at the 7,333-yard Forest Oaks Country Club course, where temperatures were high and scores were consistently low. After the opening round, 79 players -- more than half of the field of 156 -- were three under or better.

“You’ve just got to do the same things we did today -- put the ball in the fairway and take advantage when you get the short clubs,” Glover said.

Laura Diaz shot a bogey-free, six-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Canadian Women’s Open at Edmonton.

Diaz, coming off a second-place tie Sunday in Sweden in the Scandinavian TPC, made a long birdie putt on the par-four first hole -- her 10th hole of the day on the Royal Mayfair course.

“It was just really fun for me to make the 33-footer,” Diaz said. “It’s been what I’ve struggled with, so it was nice to see that go in.”

Kelli Kuehne and Kyeong Bae opened with 66s, 2005 winner Meena Lee topped a group at 67, and Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster shot 68s. Kuehne has missed the cut in eight of her last nine tournaments.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa opened with a 70 in her first round since winning the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews.

Mike Reid and Mark McNulty shot six-under 66s at Sunriver, Ore., to share the first-round lead in the Tradition, the Champions Tour’s fourth major of the year.

David Edwards was a stroke back, and Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw and Bruce Summerhays shot 68s at the Crosswater Golf Club in the high desert of central Oregon.

Reid’s 66 was his lowest score since March.

“It’s just been a flat period in my game. I don’t have an explanation for it. I’ve been feeling good,” Reid said.

Under sunny conditions, a few spectators watched by boat on the Little Deschutes River that winds through the 7,436-yard course -- the new tournament site.