Jay Don Blake's victory lap, Adam Svensson's ignorant bliss among 5 things from Black Desert Championship

IVENS, Utah — For Jay Don Blake, a 65-year-old journeyman, the best chance to make a run at the weekend during his 500th PGA Tour start was sparkling play on and around the greens, and the 18th hole of the opening round of the inaugural Black Desert Championship was the kind of scenario the St. George native needed to take advantage of.

While Blake's playing partners, Wilson Furr and David Bradshaw, outdrove him on the 587-yard par 5, Blake was crafty in getting to the front edge of the green in two, giving himself a lengthy roll at an eagle that could have been a round changer.

After the home crowd gave him a warm ovation and he circled the green while waving to the galleries, Blake rolled his long attempt 10 feet past the hole and then missed one coming back, blowing an opportunity to keep pace with a number of hotshots rocketing up the leaderboard.

Blake never finished his round, but he's still one of 5 things to know from the opening day of action.

Jay Don Blake's big energy walk

Blake didn't finish his first round as play was suspended due to darkness at 7:04 p.m. local time after the area native finished his 15th hole of the day.

He didn't seem to mind the slow play and soaked up the moment as folks greeted him with applause at nearly every turn. Blake even took part in a walk-and-talk with Golf Channel.

Not a bad day for a guy with one career PGA Tour win.

Photos: PGA journeyman Jay Don Blake through the years

He made his lone birdie of the day on the first hole (his 10th of the day) and sits at 3 over with three holes to play in his opening round.

Still, the winner of the 1991 Shearson Lehman Brothers Open was clearly enjoying his way around a gorgeous golf course.

"Golf has been my life. It's a great game. Obviously, you can play at any age and still enjoy it. I'm 65, and I've played with guys out here that they're 80 that they love the game," he said. "Play it at 12 years old, you can love the game. That's the great part about golf is you can play it at any age and love it. And having that kind of a career, I'm very proud to get to the 500th."

Pressure? Not for Adam Svensson

With 250 yards and two shots standing between him and a 59, Adam Svensson stood over his ball on the final hole of Thursday's action and had little thought about finishing with the magic number.

How was the Canadian so cool with that pressure on his shoulders?

"To be honest, I thought it was a par-72, so I didn't even think about it really," he said.

When did he realize?

"Until I signed my scorecard. No idea," he said.

Whether he knew the scorecard or not, Svensson knew he played some good golf, posting an eagle and nine birdies during a scintillating 60 that put him two strokes ahead of the field after the opening day of play.

For Svensson, it marked his career-low round, and he's got a buffer between himself and the duo of Henrik Norlander and Matt McCarty, who each finished with a 62. Svensson's previous low round was a 61, which he's accomplished twice, the most recent coming at the 2019 Wyndham Championship.

Ben Kohles makes ace

Ben Kohles made his ninth hole-in-one and first on the PGA Tour with a shot that he pulled back on a string on the 151-yard 17th hole. Not everyone was surprised.

"My caddie kind of put it out there. He was like, you know what, we haven't made a hole-in-one yet this year, right before I hit," Kohles said.

For Kohles, it was part of an impressive 66 that put him in a tie with 10 others for sixth.

Peter Malnati's wild hole

After opening with a pair of pars and then a birdie, Peter Malnati sent two tee shots OB – the first one wide right, the next wide left – on the par-4 sixth hole. After the two penalty strokes, his fifth was finally in play and then from 177 yards out, Malnati bounced his ball short but then watched as it trundled up on the green and went into the hole.

Mike Weir starts strong

After retelling a story about how Jack Nicklaus wrote him back and convinced him to stay a left-hander, Mike Weir got out to a hot start on Thursday, posting six birdies and no bogeys on his first nine holes (he started on the back) to make the turn at 30.

He slipped on the way home, however, struggling to a 38 on the second nine and finishing the day at 3 under.

As for the Nicklaus story, what would Weir have done if Nicklaus suggested he switch?

“I have no idea what would have happened. I was a natural left-hander,” said Weir, who played his college golf at BYU. “I wrote Jack when I was a kid and he said stick with your natural swing. 1983 when I wrote that letter, there was Bob Charles who had won the British Open. But Russ Cochran was on Tour and a guy named Ernie Gonzalez, but they were kind of middle-of-the-pack guys, good players. But the best players in the world were all right-handed, and I wrote Jack this letter, and he said, no, stick to your natural swing, so I did.”