Brad Reeves leads by one after a 69
(University of Arizona photo)

This week, Reeves, 19, hopes that Seaside will be the site of another victory as he challenges a 120-man field at the Bayonet Black Horse Amateur. He is off to a solid start, posting a 3-under-par 69 to take the day one lead.

Conditions were fair today, with the overcast morning turning into a gently breezy, sunny afternoon, and the course’s greens playing on the softer side of the norm. Nonetheless, Golf Digest’s 35th-ranked most difficult course in the U.S. still managed to show some teeth today, with only ten players breaking par.

“It’s playing a little easier than I'm used to because the greens are a little bit slower and more receptive, but I think I think the difficulty of this golf course, honestly, is tee-to-green,” offered Reeves after his round. “Keep it in play and out of the bunkers, and you can score out there.”

Reeves began his round fairly smoothly, making three pars out of the gate. On the 4th, Reeves missed the green, finding one of the difficult bunkers he was trying to avoid. Reeves would make his only bogey of the day on this hole.

His round took off at the next hole. After putting his tee shot in the left rough, Brad converted a 75-yard hole-out eagle on the par-4, negating his bogey and then some, and moving him back into red numbers for the day.

His scorecard was squeaky-clean from that point forward, hitting greens and making crucial up-and-downs for pars, with birdies on the 10th and 12th.

“I played solid on the way in. I hit the greens. Missed a couple of short ones on the way in but I cant really complain. I’m leading the tournament, so its all good.”

The action is set to continue tomorrow at 7:30am, with a group of five players at 2-under-par for the tournament looking to make a move on the Reeves.