Bradford, from Columbia, Maryland, was among the early starters and was able to take advantage of perfect weather conditions to shoot four-under-par through 14 holes on the 6,404-yard, par-70 Lakeview course.
Bradford, 34, came into the Mississauga event with three second-place finishes this year on the Canadian Tour and he has earned close to $53,000, which puts him in fourth place in the Order of Merit.
Close behind Bradford at three-under were seven players, including Wes Heffernan and Ryan Yip, both of Calgary. Also in the group at three-under were Americans Garrett Frank, Brian Unk and D.J. Fiese, along with Australian Luke Hickmott and the defending Jane Rogers champion, Byron Smith of Rancho Mirage, California.
Peter Laws was the leading Mississaugan in the early going. He was at even-par 35 after nine holes.
Another Mississaugan, amateur Graham Baillargeon, started on the back nine and was at four-over-par heading to the front nine.
A third Mississaugan, amateur Greg Doherty, is due to tee off in the last group of the day Thursday afternoon.
The field of 156 players will be cut to the low 60 and ties after Friday’s second round.
The event is named and presented in honour of Jane Rogers, who while battling cancer herself, raised funds for her cancer clinic at Trillium Health Centre Mississauga. Net proceeds from the tournament will be turned over to the oncology unit at Trillium and the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada.
onlinenews@mississauga.net
