Every player started Thursday at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove without a tournament round at this golf course to lean on. Max Greyserman saw an advantage in that blank space. Eric Cole quickly identified the scoring holes. By evening, both had signed for 7-under 64s and a share of the Biltmore Championship Asheville lead.
Fog delayed the start by 40 minutes, and the first group did not leave until 8 a.m. The high reached 87 degrees. Darkness finally stopped play at 7:34 p.m., although every player had completed the round.
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Their 64s showed how this unfamiliar course could be attacked. The course was soft; elevation helped the ball travel and preferred lies were in effect because heavy rain and high temperatures had complicated the final stages of tournament preparation. Scoring was available on the right holes. The long par 3s still demanded restraint.
Five par 3s and four par 5s put an unusual demand on the scorecard. The player had to recognize when a long iron was a scoring club and when it was a club for protecting par. Greyserman and Cole handled that distinction well enough to sit one stroke ahead of six players who opened with 65s.
Greyserman Had No Bad Memories Here
Greyserman had five weeks between the Wyndham Championship and his first round in Asheville. He took nearly two weeks away from golf, practiced for a stretch in New Jersey, shut it down again and spent time with his family. There was a trip to Italy with his wife and a close friend’s wedding. His joking summary was that perhaps the secret was to practice less, enjoy life and arrive ready to play.
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The start of his round did not look like a player about to lead. Greyserman bogeyed the second hole after missing in the wrong place, then needed a recovery from about 50 yards a few holes later. He did not force an immediate answer. Four consecutive birdies through the middle of the round changed the day.
Greyserman’s explanation of the new venue revealed more than his birdie run. A familiar course can keep old mistakes available in a player’s mind. Walnut Cove offered none.
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“You just have no memories, so it’s nice and fresh,” Greyserman said. “I think that’s good.”
That freshness only helps when a player accepts what just happened. Greyserman said the leaderboard was meaningless while he was playing and kept returning to conversations with his caddie instead of replaying a miss. “All that matters is the shot you have in front of you,” he said.
Greyserman applied a familiar mental-game phrase in a practical way. On a course being learned in competition, attention has value. The bogey at No. 2 remained one stroke instead of becoming a running argument with the golf course.
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Why Thursday Matters
The co-leaders began the fall from different positions
The Biltmore Championship is the first of eight FedExCup Fall events that will finalize eligibility for the 2027 PGA Tour season.
Max Greyserman
No. 103
FedExCup Fall standing entering the event
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One top-10 finish in 23 starts this year
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Five runner-up finishes in 78 PGA Tour starts
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Previously 0-for-2 when leading or co-leading after Round 1
Eric Cole
No. 49
FedExCup finish entering the fall
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One of five players in the field from the top 50
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Three runner-up finishes in 130 PGA Tour starts
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Previously 0-for-4 when leading or co-leading after Round 1
$5 million
Tournament purse
$900,000
Winner’s share
500
FedExCup points to the winner
The Same Long Irons Came With Different Jobs
Cole reached 7 under with a similarly clear plan. He described his play as solid throughout the bag, then separated the holes where he wanted birdies from the holes where par was a perfectly good result. His phrase was to keep the ball in front of him and in position, a plain objective that travels well to an unfamiliar course.
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The par 5s were reachable in the soft conditions and at elevation. Cole was comfortable being aggressive there. His view of the five par 3s was different. He wanted to choose conservative targets, stay organized and get through them around even par.
Greyserman expected heavy use from the same part of the bag. The shorter par 5s left long irons for second shots, while several par 3s also demanded 4- or 5-irons. That creates two assignments with similar equipment. From a fairway into a reachable par 5, a long iron can set up eagle or a simple birdie. From the tee on a long par 3, the same club may call for the middle of the green and acceptance of a 25-foot putt.
A golfer can make a good swing at the wrong target. Cole avoided that mistake by letting the scorecard look uneven. The par 5s were where he expected to gain ground. On the par 3s, his first job was to avoid giving a stroke away.
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Walnut Cove Decision Map
One part of the bag had two very different jobs
Par 71 | 7,249 yards
Attack
Four par 5s
At elevation and in soft conditions, Eric Cole viewed the par 5s as reachable scoring chances.
Manage
Five par 3s
Cole’s goal was conservative targets and roughly even-par play on the course’s most unusual set of holes.
Execute
4- and 5-irons
Greyserman expected those clubs to work repeatedly, both into shorter par 5s and from the tee on long par 3s.
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Round 1 condition: Preferred lies were used after heavy rainfall and high temperatures created difficult agronomic conditions late in tournament preparation. The policy will remain in effect for all four rounds.
The Two 64s Carry Different Fall Pressure
The Biltmore Championship opens an eight-event FedExCup Fall that will finalize eligibility for the 2027 PGA Tour season. Greyserman entered at No. 103 in the standings after one top-10 finish in 23 starts this year. At that position, an opening 64 carries direct value in the eight-event race that will settle eligibility.
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Cole finished the season at No. 49, one of five players in this field who were inside the top 50. He comes to the fall from a different spot. Cole said he worked too many years to reach the PGA Tour to treat any chance to compete as routine. He also wants contention to show him what needs attention during the offseason.
An opening lead has not finished the job for either player. Greyserman had held or shared two previous first-round leads and converted neither. Cole was 0-for-4 before Thursday. A six-player group at 6 under, including rookie Neal Shipley after his best opening round of the season, leaves almost no room for either leader to spend Friday admiring a 64.
By Friday, no one in the field will be seeing Walnut Cove for the first time. The six players at 65 have their own 18 holes of competitive evidence. Greyserman and Cole will need to make the same distinction again: which long-iron shot asks for birdie, and which one asks for the center of the green.
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PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on RG.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
Related: Biltmore Championship Course Preview Starts Underfoot
Related: Biltmore Championship Puts PGA Tour Fall to Work Immediately
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Golf section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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