Angel Cabrera and Jhonattan Vegas joint leaders in Alabama

South American duo Angel Cabrera and Jhonattan Vegas share the lead after the opening round of the Barbasol Championship in Alabama.

While the world's elite are teeing-up at Royal Troon in Scotland, the best of the rest on the PGA Tour are chasing dollars over the RTJ Trail course in Auburn.

Both Cabrera and Vegas carded six-under-par 65s, with each golfer making four birdies, plus an eagle at 13, during their rounds.

The Open

Cabrera, the two-time major winner from Argentina, hit all 18 fairways during his round, while Vegas from Venezuela hit 13 greens in regulation, as he set about chasing a first Tour title in almost five and a half years.

The 31-year-old said: "Any time you can come out and start a tournament like this is always good.

"It gives you a lot of confidence heading into Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I've been playing well enough the whole year and hopefully I can keep that up for three more rounds.

"It is a great opportunity, especially with the FedEx Cup play-offs getting closer. You want to give yourself the best chance to play as many events as you can before the play-offs."

Vegas, who will be heading to Rio next month to participate in the Olympics, teed-off 91st in the Fed-Ex Cup ranking, with a little over one month to go before qualifying ends.

One-stroke adrift is Martin Laird whose round-of-66 included a solitary bogey, and the 33-year-old shares third spot with six other players.

"I hit the ball great all day," said Laird. "The week before I went to Quicken Loans in June my coach and I made a posture change.

"This got me standing a lot taller and putting more weight on my heels. Ever since then, I've been hitting the ball nicely and hopefully it continues."