After going out in even par 35, Burnett birdied four of his first five holes to start his second nine and added another on the par-4 17th to come home in 31, capping a brilliant start to the penultimate event in the Elite Amateur Series.
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Max Herendeen, a top junior player from Bellevue, Wash., Canadian Brady McKinlay (Utah Valley), William Paysse (Texas A&M) and Jiri Zuska (Louisville) are just one shot off the lead after turning in rounds of 67, while four golfers, including North & South Amateur champion Luke Clanton, are two back at 3-under.
Christiaan Maas of Pretoria, South Africa, the highest ranked player in the field (WAGR No. 21), opened with a 1-over 72. Caleb Surratt of Knoxville, Tenn., the leader after week four in the Elite Amateur Cup points race after posting three top-five finishes, shot a 1-over 72 in the opening round while 48-year-old Chris Kamin of Phoenix, Ariz., the oldest player field, opened with an even-par 71 and sits five shots back.
Morse Cup
In the Morse Cup competition, the team from the Northern California Golf Association, comprised of Ryan Burnett, Sam Sommerhauser of Lincoln, Calif. and Brian Stark of Kingsburg, Calif., sits on top of the leaderboard at 7-under par. The team from the Idaho Golf Association sits five shots back in second place.
The Morse Cup team competition takes place concurrently during the first two days of the championship. There are 15 member Pacific Rim golf associations that comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association, and each golf association selects three players to represent them in this team competition. Two of the top three scores from each team in rounds one and two will count for the Morse Cup portion of the event.
The Pacific Coast Amateur resumes tomorrow morning with second-round action at Columbia Edgewater Golf Club.
The Pacific Coast Amateur contributed to this report