TULSA, Okla. (July 8, 2014) -- Three players managed to fire three-under 67 at the Trans-Miss Championship on Tuesday.
Will Zalatoris, Michael Gellerman, and Alex Franklin are tied for the lead at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, and have a two-shot advantage on the rest of the field.
Franklin, a rising senior at Oregon State, was the only player among the leaders to card a bogey-free round, making birdies on the par-4 fourth, the par-3 11th, and the par-5 13th.
It was a far from perfect day for Franklin, however, as he did not hit nearly as many greens as he would have liked.
“I didn’t really hit the ball great,” Franklin said. “I just did a really good job of scrambling, scraping it around, and saving pars when I needed to.”
His co-leader, Michael Gellerman of the University of Oklahoma, notched six birdies on the day, coupled with three bogeys. He shot four-under on Southern Hills’ difficult par-4s, one of which came at the 490-yard 16th hole.
Will Zalatoris, an incoming freshman at Wake Forest, made five birdies and two bogeys on his way to a 67, as he birdied three of his first four but gave one back on his last hole of the day.
Defending champion Bryson Dechambeau of Southern Methodist shot a three-over 73, and sits six back of the leaders, tied for 42nd.
Other notables include 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Scottie Scheffler, who shot one-over 71 and is tied for 21st, and current California Amateur champion Xander Schauffele, who also posted 71.
The players averaged 74.34 on the par-70, 7104-yard layout in the first round. The course, which has hosted nine major championships, proved difficult for the field, as only 13 of the 143 players came in under par on Tuesday.
“Coming [to Southern Hills], after playing it a couple times, you understand why it’s had so many major championships,” Franklin explained. “It’s a really, really good test of golf.”
The field will be cut to the low 50 players and ties after Wednesday’s second round. There are currently 59 players at three-over or better.
Play will resume Wednesday morning. For results from the first round and live scoring for the second, follow the link below.