After a lengthy break from the tour due to a nagging back injury, Weyburn’s Graham DeLaet made his return in the first round of the Safeway Open Thursday.

DeLaet finished the round with a 2-over 74, putting him in 128th place and 11 back from the lead.

DeLaet shot par on the first two holes of the round, but then scored a bogey on the par-4 third when he made the green in two but ended up 3-putting to finish off. A par on the 4th hole would set up his first birdie of the round on the 5th hole.

DeLaet covered more than half of the distance on the 550-yard par-5 with a 323-yard drive. He followed it up with a 214-yard shot which put him on the fringe fo the green, 68 feet from the pin. He chipped it within 10 feet of the hole and then putted for the birdie.

On holes 6 and 7, DeLaet shot par but then ran into bogey trouble on holes 8 and 9.

On the 8th hole, DeLaet’s approach shot finished just short of the green, and then once again, putting would prove to be the difference as he 3-putt the par-4 hole to make bogey. Then, on 9, DeLaet’s tee shot ended up in the rough to the left of the fairway, and he would end up shooting a bogey on the par-5.

On the back nine, DeLaet would make par across the board, leaving him at 2-over for the round.

DeLaet teed off Friday morning in the second round of the event. He will have some ground to make up, though, as the projected cut for the tournament is 2-under.