Harry Crockett shot a bogey-free 8-under 63 in the first round of the 2024 Trans-Mississippi Amateur Championship at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., to take a one-shot lead into the second round.
Crockett, who just finished his junior season at Nebraska, started on hole No. 10 and shot a 29 on the back nine, his front nine, with five birdies and an eagle on No. 18. He added birdies on holes No. 1 and 2 to go 8-under through the first 11 holes and made seven pars on the way into the clubhouse.
Crockett started his collegiate career at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, so he is well-versed in the region.
"The fairways are running quite fast," Crockett told Ben Adelberg of Back of the Range after the round. "It is just really nice to hit off and easy to spin it. The greens are perfect and are rolling so good.
"I have been in Kansas for a little while and got used to how Kansas golf is," Crockett added.
Crockett is currently ranked No. 247 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings and recently made the final 16 at the British Amateur.
A fellow Big Ten golfer, Cameron Huss of Wisconsin, is in solo second place after a first-round 7-under 64, and Joseph Lloyd, Kristoffer Kuvaas and Ryan Eshleman are T3 at 6-under. Rhett South and Ryder Cowan are T6 at 5-under.
The Trans-Mississippi Golf Association was officially organized on June 8, 1901, with the principal mission of advancing continuing interest in amateur golf. The first Trans-Mississippi Championship was held that year and has been held every year since, except for a three-year interruption during World War II. The championship is played at a different course each year, at sites near or west of the Mississippi River.
The list of past champions includes some of the biggest names in amateur and professional golf, including Jack Nicklaus (twice), Charlie Coe (four times), Deane Beman, Ben Crenshaw, George Archer, Gary Koch, Bob Tway, and Mark Brooks.
In 1987, the tournament field was restricted to mid-amateurs (those aged 25 and over). In 2009, two major changes were made: (i) the field was re-opened to players of all ages, and (ii) the format, which had been 36 holes of stroke play qualifying to determine a 64-player field for match play, was changed to 54 holes of stroke play. Since 2011 it has been a 72-hole stroke play championship.