“I took a couple weeks off leading up to this, and I haven’t been playing as much taking some family time,” said Huff, a senior at Auburn University from Eagle, Idaho. “So it’s good to come back and put a good round together. I just had a lot of things go my way today, and that’s where the score comes from.”
Huff recorded five birdies in a bogey-free round at the Wigwam Golf Club’s Gold Course, all coming in the first 10 holes. Vrzich, meanwhile, had seven birdies on his scorecard, but four-putted the par-3 6th hole for a lone double-bogey.
“I was kind of mad about that – I bogeyed that hole every day last year,” said a laughing Vrzich, playing in his second Patriot All-America. “I wanted to par it this year and I still couldn’t.”
John Keefer of Baylor University, Maxell Moldovan of Ohio State University, Jacob Skov Oleson of Texas Christian University and Harrison Ott of Vanderbilt University are all one shot behind the leaders after shooting -4 (66), respectively. Another four players are all within three shots of the lead.
Keefer, a Baylor University freshman from San Antonio, Texas, made a hole-in-one on the 191-yard par-3 6th, landing a seven-iron over a greenside bunker and finding the bottom of the cup.
“All the guys around me were like, ‘Oh this is a very getable pin,’” said Keefer, playing in his first Patriot All-America. “I didn’t even see it. I just heard all the people screaming and jumping up and down. I couldn’t even believe it.”
The Patriot All-America honors fallen or severely wounded soldiers in partnership with the Folds of Honor Foundation. The golfers receive a golf bag donated by PING Corporation at the event’s opening ceremony emblazoned with the name and branch of service of a fallen or injured military member whom they shall represent. Participants also receive a card with the soldier’s story so they can be familiar with that soldier.
At the conclusion of the tournament, the golf bags are shipped to players’ schools and auctioned with all proceeds benefiting the Folds of Honor Foundation.
Watch a live stream of the action at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEmpBRVCewbbhteDz24QsQw