“I’m from Texas. It felt a lot like Houston,” Russell said. Russell made seven birdies, including on three of the final four holes. He had only one bogey all day and is three shots ahead of the field after one round.

Johannes Veerman, a teammate of Russell's at A&M and recent Central Florida graduate Brad Schneider, both shot 66’s.

Seven players finished at two-under 67 and 23 players broke par. Mitch Sutton made the shot of the day when he aced the 12th hole with a four iron. He finished with a 67.