Champ, who started at No. 10, made the turn in 2 under before reeling off five birdies and no bogeys on his second nine, including a 21-foot putt at No. 3, his longest putt of the day. Champ gained more than five strokes to the field on the greens, which ranked first among the early finishers.

Missing more cuts than he is making, Champ has been in a prolonged slump dating back to 2023, but a 7-under first round in Dallas could be the start of a resurgence.

McKINNEY, Texas — Scottie Scheffler is happy to be back at his hometown event and showed it. Cameron Champ isn’t far from familiar territory, either, which is a good thing considering he got the call that he was in the Byron Nelson as an alternate about 18 hours before his tee time.