Starting on No. 10, Keur - who captured his first CGA title last month at the South Carolina Amateur Match Play - opened his round with six birdies in an eight-hole stretch on Briar's Creek's back nine.
"I was on cruise control there for a little bit," Keur said with a smile after the round. "I was able to get at most of the pins and made 5 to 6-foot birdie putts." On the 205-yard par-3 17th, Keur rolled in a 50-foot birdie putt. "I thought it left it short," said Keur, a rising senior at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. "But these greens are in such good shape it just kept rolling and rolling and I was fortunate enough for it to go in."
With back-to-back birdies on the first two holes of his inward nine, Keur reached 8-under-par and talk began of a new course record. However, a wayward drive on the par-5 5th led to his only bogey. Four finishing pars capped Keur's 65, good for a one-stroke lead. "It's always good to start off low, but I know I've still got three rounds to go, there's a lot of golf to be played."
One of the players who try to chase down Keur is John Eades of Charlotte, N.C. Eades also won his first CGA championship in 2017, claiming the Carolinas Mid-Amateur in April. Playing in Thursday's morning wave, Eades set the bar with a six-under 66. Three consecutive birdies on holes 3, 4, and 5 kick-started his round. "It's a long tournament, you try to find stretches where you can make a few birdies in a row to propel you through the round." The 34-year-old Eades added four more birdies with just one bogey to finish the first round alone in second place.
Although he was unable to get in a practice round yesterday, Eades had an ease about him playing an unfamiliar course. "When you don't get to practice and play that much as a mid-am, it's about the enjoyment of being outside, spend time with your dad [his caddy], it's just a blast."
18-year-old Ryan Marter of Columbia is in third following a five-under 67. Marter won his first CGA championship in May this year at the Carolinas Four-Ball. Four players are tied for fourth at four-under 68. Thirty-one players posted scores below par on Thursday.