LUMBERTON — Ryan Bass said before the Robeson County Golf Championship his game plan was simply to limit bogeys and make as many birdies as possible.

On his first hole of the tournament, after missing the green left with a pulled approach, Bass hit his chip shot harder than intended, creating the possibility of an opening bogey — and the ball bounced on the green once, hit the flagstick and fell in the cup for a birdie.

The two-time defending champion was off and running, en route to a first round of 3-under 69, giving him a three-stroke Championship Division lead over Scott Benton.

“It was luck,” Bass said. “I didn’t hit it how how I wanted to; it just hit the green, hit the pin and went straight in. I was thankful for that, because that could’ve been a bogey very easily, and that got me calmed down a little bit. Once I settled down, I hit the ball the rest of the day pretty good.”

Bass birdied the sixth and eighth holes, both front-nine par-fives, and made a bogey on the seventh to shoot a 2-under 34 on the front nine; he then made a 40-foot eagle putt at the par-five 11th.

“The hole that helped me out more than anything was 11,” Bass said. “I didn’t make all the putts, but I hit the ball good; I kept it in the fairway and I hit a lot of greens.”

Bass made bogey at the 16th and parred the remaining holes to complete his 69. The three-time Championship Division winner finds himself in a familiar position entering Saturday’s second round.

“Just the same (mindset tomorrow),” Bass said. “This rough, you don’t want to be in it. You’ve got to hit the ball in the fairway, and the greens are very important for me. I feel like I’m a decent putter, so if I can just get the ball in play, I shouldn’t make too many mistakes.”

Benton, a four-time tournament champion and the 2020 runner-up, played an up-and-down round in an even-par 72 that has him in second place.

“Got off to a rough start and kind of just fought it all day, didn’t hit the ball very good,” Benton said. “Man, it was a fight; every shot was a struggle all day. Some days they come out the middle, some days they don’t; today was one of those days that it didn’t.”

Benton bogeyed the first three holes, then made birdies on both front-nine par fives; after a bogey at 11, he made two more birdies down the stretch to get his score back to even par.

“Hopefully I’ll strike the ball a little bit better tomorrow and get some momentum going, and maybe I can catch some shots up tomorrow,” Benton said.

Mike Chuchacz, Mack Kenney and Steve Pippin are tied for third at 1 over par after each shot a first-round 73.

Chuchacz, in his second tournament appearance, made birdies on holes No. 6, 8, 11 and 12 — the last a tap-in birdie after he nearly aced the par-three hole; he shot 35 on the front nine with a 38 on the back.

“Ball striking went well, but it ended up hurting me on (No.) 13 and 14, and then I had a three-putt on 18,” Chuchacz said. “But other than that I played pretty good.”

Kenney overcame a triple-bogey on the ninth hole and shot 35 on the second side in his 73, including birdies on No. 15 and 18.

“I just knew that there was a lot of golf left to play, today and through the rest of the weekend, so I just tried not to let it get to me; that’s easier said than done,” Kenney said. “I just tried to grind it out.”

Pippin, the 2016 tournament champion, began with a 60-yard up and down for a momentous opening par, then made birdies on holes No. 6, 8 and 15.

“I played good for the way I’ve been playing,” Pippin said. “The golf course is playing pretty good; a lot of grass on the fairways and the greens are rolling really good, better than they’ve rolled in a while.”

Jamie Locklear, who was third in last year’s tournament, shot a 3-under 33 on the front nine, the best nine-hole score in the field, before a 41 on the back nine for a 2-over 74; he is tied for sixth with John Haskins and Justin Britt. Timmie Stultz, Chad Martin and Jeff Broadwell are tied for ninth at 3-over 75.

Nance leads Super Senior Division

A 1-over 73 gave Cliff Nance the first-round lead in the tournament’s Super Senior Division, which plays 36 holes and will conclude after Saturday’s round.

Nance shot an even-par 36 on the front nine and a 1-over 37 on the back.

David Ray Lowery, who shot 74 is one stroke back in second. David Hunt, who shot 39 on the front nine but improved with a 36 on the second side, is third after a 75.

Nance, Lowery and Hunt will play together Saturday with a 10:40 tee time.

Eight players are within six strokes of the lead entering Saturday’s round: Ronnie Hunt shot a 5-over 77 Friday; James H. Oxendine and Donnie Beck each shot 78; and Bob McQueen and Knocky Thorndyke each shot 79.