PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Shawn Stefani likes to talk about being patient on the golf course, and he showed that in the opening round of the Tampa Bay Championship. His longest putt for par was just inside 5 feet on his final hole for a 6-under 65 and a two-shot lead.

He also was patient getting to this position.

Stefani, who grew up in the Houston area, spent five years at Lamar before turning pro. He spent one year on the Adams Golf Tour, moved on to the Hooters Tour and then spent the next four years playing where he could and trying to Monday qualify for Nationwide Tour events.

“Just not playing good at the right time,” he said Thursday. “I don’t think it had anything to do with a lack of work. I’ve always been a hard worker. It was just the wrong time for me.

“Everybody kind of goes and hits their strides differently. I’m more of a patient guy, just kind of wait for things to happen. I know eventually things will start clicking.”

That’s what happened on a pleasant, breezy afternoon at Innisbrook.

With the wind at his back, he hit wedge into 2 feet for birdie on the 10th hole to start his round. He made birdie on all four of the par 5s with a short game that he practiced for two solid days earlier in the week. He added his other birdie with a 20-foot putt on the third hole.

Most importantly, he made few mistakes. Stefani missed only three greens, got up-and-down from the bunker all three times and had to play out of the rough just once, with a tee shot he missed slightly to the left on No. 3.

“If you can drive the ball well out here, you can give yourself enough opportunities,” Stefani said. “But it’s a tough driving course, and I was able to hit a lot of fairways, which put me in good position to make birdies.”