Chris Crisologo (Simon Fraser Athletics photo)
Once he reached the back nine at the Championship Course at UNM in Albuquerque, N.M., Chris Crisologo caught fire. After turning in 1 under, Crisologo played his final five holes in 4 under to post a 5-under 66. It left him tied for a share of the Pacific Coast Amateur lead with Australian Blake Windred.
“I chipped in from about 25 yards for eagle,” said Crisologo, “that kind of got me going.”
Crisologo was paired with defending champion Isaiah Salinda, a recent Stanford graduate. Salinda opened with 2-under 69 and has a share of 10th.
Windred, who is playing his second event in the U.S. for the summer after a top-25 finish at the Players Amateur earlier this month, started the day with bogeys on two of the first three holes, but righted the ship by shooting a bogey-free, 5-under 31 on the back nine.
In all, six players from Australia – Windred, Connor McKinney, Nathan Barbieri, Jack Thompson, Kiran Day and Josh Armstong – are inside the top 15 after the first round.
Read more: Aussie am Windred plays golf like it's his job
With mostly collegians and twentysomethings in the field, a veteran made early noise on Tuesday. Greg Condon, stroke-play co-medalist at last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur, started his day on the back nine and went 2 under for an early share of the lead. He was 1 over on the front and with a starting 70, is tied for 14th, only four shots off the pace and still very much in the championship.
Notably, University of Oklahoma teammates Quade Cummins of Weatherford, Okla., and Logan McAllister of Oklahoma City, Okla., each shot 4-under 67 and sit one off the lead at T3.
ABOUT THE Pacific Coast Amateur
Although its present history only dates from
1967, the Pacific Coast
Amateur Championship's roots make it one of
the
oldest amateur
golf championships in American history. The first
tournament was
held on the links of San Francisco Golf Club at
The
Presidio, April 24-
27, 1901. Championships were held annually
through 1911, all being
conducted in California except for the 1909
championship, which was
held at Seattle Golf Club in Washington. The
Pacific Coast Amateur
then ceased to exist, only to be reconstituted at
Seattle Golf Club on
August 10-12, 1967 with the Pacific Northwest,
Northern California,
Southern California, Oregon and Arizona golf
associations
participating.
Today, 15 member Pacific Rim golf
associations comprise
the Pacific Coast Golf Association. Players can
be
invited to this 72-
hole stroke play event by their Pacific Coast G.A.
member golf
association, or as an individual.
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