Hayes Brown recorded an ace and two birdies in the opening round of the 99th Crump Cup to shoot a 68, an impressive showing as he recorded the only round under par.
The 14th hole relinquished the hole-in-one to the Atlanta native. Brown was a semi-finalist in the 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur; he holed out for an eagle on the second playoff hole to grab the No. 64 seed before making an impressive run.
A trio of players carded even-par 70: Brad Tilley (Easton, Conn.), Drew Kittleson (Scottsdale, Ariz), and Garrett Rank (Canada).
It’s a star-studded top ten. As Evan Beck, Stewart Hagestad, and Andrew Bailey are lurking. Jimmy Ellis, the 2024 U.S. Amateur stroke-play medalist and 2022 Crump Cup runner-up, shot a 73.
Hagestad is ranked No. 3 in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings, and Beck is ranked No. 6.
After Friday’s round, the field will be cut into 16-player flights. After round 1, nine players shot 75 and sit in a tie for 14th place and a spot in the coveted Championship Flight. That should make for a dramatic day tomorrow, as a massive number of players still have a chance to earn a spot in the Championship Flight.
In the senior division, Dave Nelson (Littleton, Colorado) made four birdies and shot 71 to lead the Senior Division. Tommy Brennan (Covington, Louisiana ) is one back at 72. Brennan won the 2022 Crump Cup Senior Division.
Open Division:
Hayes Brown: 68
Bradford Tilley: 70
Drew Kittleson: 70
Garrett Rank: 70
Evan Beck: 71
Andrew Bailey: 72
Stewart Hagestad: 72
Jimmy Ellis: 73
Kris K. Mikkelsen: 73
5 players with 74
Senior Division:
David Nelson: 71
Tommey Brennan: 72
Rupert Kellock: 73
Dave Ryan: 74
Arnold Cutrell: 75