U.S. Public Links: Rank, Thomas, Colgate share early lead

July 14, 2014 | by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com

Garrett Rank, last year's qualifying medalist, shares the lead with Michael Colgate and Zane Thomas

NEWTON, Kan. (July 14, 2014) -- Michael Colgate, a golfer at University of Nebraska-Kearney, UNLV's Zane Thomas and Canadian mid-amateur Garrett Rank share the lead late in Day 1 at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. At Sand Creek Station, the unlikely trio shot identical 5-under 66s in Round 1 of stroke-play qualifying at the final installment of the event ahead of the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championships next year. Thomas Lim of the University of Oregon and Pacific's Byron Meth both carded 4-under 67s and sit tied for fourth place while a group of six players are at 3-under after opening with 68s. Defending champions Jordan Niebrugge of Oklahoma State is tied for 74th after shooting 3-over 74 in Round 1. Rank was the qualifying medalist a year ago and seems poised to contend for that honor for another year. He'll enter Tuesday's second and final round of stroke-play qualifying with a share of the lead. The top 64 finishers after Tuesday's round will advance to the event's match-play portion, which runs through Saturday's finale. AmateurGolf.com will continue to provide coverage throughout the week from the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. For a full look at the first-round leaderboard, follow the results link below.

Results: U.S. Amateur Public Links

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Win	Byron Meth	San Diego, CA	1000
Runner-up	Doug Ghim	Arlington Heights, IL	700
Semifinals	Michael Gellerman	Sterling, KS	500
Semifinals	Jess Bonneau	Cypress, TX	500
Quarterfinals	Rico Hoey	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	400

View full results for U.S. Amateur Public Links

About the U.S. Amateur Public Links

The U.S. Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted by the USGA. It is designed for players who do not have playing privileges at a private club. See USGA website for details and complete description of eligibility requirement...