THE CANADIAN PRESS

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SEAFORTH, Ont. - Adam Bland fired an 8-under 63 to hold a one-stroke lead over Daniel Im, Matt Daniel, Andy Matthews and Clint Rice after Thursday's first round of the Canadian Tour's Seaforth Country Classic.

Wil Collins, Andy Walker, Kent Eger, Scott Ford, Eric Couture and Andrew Parr share sixth spot after opening with 65s.

"I got off to kind of a slow start," said Bland. "But the key today was keeping the ball in play.

"I made a birdie at my third hole and made another two-putt at my fifth (No. 14). After that, I made a couple of soft pars coming in that should have been birdies."

Bland admitted he wasn't in the best of moods at the turn.

"I was pretty frustrated at the time because you can make birdie at pretty much every hole here but I wasn't keeping it in the fairway," he said. "When that happens at a course like this, you almost feel like you are losing a shot to the field.

"I finally got it going when I holed a putt at my eleventh from about 12 feet after a real bad tee shot. It kind of got my spirits going."

After another par, the Australian reeled off five consecutive birdies to finish his round.

"I just hit it close those last few holes and made the putts. It was pretty awesome," he said.

After missing the cut last week, Im is back in familiar territory.

"I played well today," said Im. "It's only the first round but I'm happy with the 64. Coming back from a missed cut last week and now being where I am makes it fun.

"I couldn't play the course last week; it didn't suit my game but I really like this one. It's very traditional."

Im nearly aced the short par-4 fourth hole but watched the ball skitter just past the hole. He then made an easy two-putt for birdie.

"This course is short, but you still have to get it on the fairway because the rough is deep," continued Im. "It got windy out there for a while and that made it a bit tougher.

"Anyone out here is capable of shooting seven or eight under. Could there be a 59 this week? Yeah, I could see it happening. The important thing, though, is to keep going for the rest of the week with the kind of round I had today."