LUMBERTON — Players at Pinecrest Country Club Friday no longer had to deal with the oppressive heat that had become a constant over the years at the Robeson County Golf Championship presented by Dial Insurance.

But while the opening round of the tournament presented cooler temperatures, a wet course and gusty winds presented a different kind of challenge.

As players turned in their scorecards after walking off the 18th green, the most-used word was “grind” — and that’s even how Scott Benton described his day after taking the early Championship Division lead with a 2-under 70, one stroke ahead of past winners Ryan Bass and Brad Locklear and three ahead of Jamie Locklear.

“You were kind of guessing at your second shots all day,” Benton said. “Pinecrest, if you hit it in the rough, it’s kind of a guess, and then you’ve got the wind today so it was kind of amplified. It makes it a little more difficult, so for me it was a chip-and-putt kind of day; you had to chip and putt pretty good, and just get it around and grind it.”

While the wind challenged the players, they were still appreciative of the lower temperatures than in years past at the event.

“You don’t sweat nearly as much,” Benton said. “It was really nice, it was a great day. It looked really ominous to start with this morning, but it turned out to be a really nice afternoon.”

Benton won the tournament four times between 1987-92 and finished second in 2017. He made birdies on holes No. 6, 8, 12, 15 and 17 en route to the lead, shooting an even-par 36 on the front nine and a 2-under 34 on the back.

“I just tried to play solid. I was trying to hit fairways, which didn’t work out all the time, but I was trying to stay solid and stay positive,” Benton said.

While Benton is leading the tournament, even he isn’t sure he can remain in that position through the rest of the weekend in the 54-hole Championship Division.

“(I have) very little, no confidence at all,” Benton joked. “I’ll play tomorrow and see what happens.”

Bass, the 2019 champion, made three mid- to long-range putts on the front nine as he shot a 1-under 71 to finish the opening round one behind Benton.

“I just didn’t make any putts on the back,” Bass said. “I didn’t really hit the ball good all day, my putter saved me on the front, but I just couldn’t get it going on the back. I’m happy where I’m at.”

Bass holed a 15-foot putt at No. 3, a 25-footer from off the green at No. 4 and a 30-footer at No. 8 during a 2-under 34 on the front nine. He shot 1-over 37 on the back nine.

Bass and the man he shares second with, Brad Locklear, are paired together the first two rounds, and the pair enjoyed the grouping as each could see what the other player was doing with both close to the lead.

“It always helps,” Brad Locklear said. “When you’re in this tournament, you want to play with the guys you know are going to be at the top.”

Brad Locklear was 3 over par through the first four holes before turning his day around. His closing stretch, which included a made eagle putt from off the green at No. 15 and a chip-in birdie at No. 17, got him under par, with a back-nine of 2-under 34.

“(The finish) was big because when you’re hitting the ball good and you don’t make putts, it’s hard to stay patient. I try to hit a little bit closer, try to chase pins,” Brad Locklear said. “That one there (on No. 15), I hit a good putt and it went in, and that kind of changes everything.”

Jamie Locklear posted an early 1-over 73 playing in the first group out Friday morning, and the round held up to leave him in fourth place with 36 holes to go.

Playing earlier than most of the rest of the field, he faced the toughest of Friday’s conditions for nearly all his round, with the fairways and rough at their wettest and an off-and-on drizzle through the morning. He shot 3-over 39 on the front nine and improved with 2-under 34 on the back.

“I felt like the fairways dried out a little bit and we weren’t catching as many fliers, but I felt like I positioned myself well on the back side,” Jamie Locklear said.

Landon Lowry is in fifth place in the Championship Division after an opening 2-over 74 in which he birdied three of the four par 5s.

“I know with the conditions the scores may not be as low as they usually, but hopefully I improve the next two days,” Lowry said.

Jeff Wishart, John Haskins and nine-time tournament winner Kyle Covington shot 3-over 75.

Super Senior Division

Improvement on the back nine was the theme for the day in the first round in the 36-hole Super Senior Division, as each of the top three and one of the players tied for fourth each improved by several shots on the second side to go under par for the nine.

Warner Hall shot a 3-under 33 on the back after a 2-over 38 on the opening nine, carding the lone subpar round in the division with a 1-under 71.

Cliff Nance and Greg Canady are each two strokes behind Hall after shooting 73. Both shot a 2-over 38 on the front before a 1-under 35 on the back nine.

Lee Hunt, like Hall, improved five strokes from the front nine to the back nine, going out in 4-over 40 before coming in with a 1-under 35 to shoot a round of 3-over 75.

Donnie Beck also shot 75 after starting with an even-par 36 on the front side.