Ben Blundell and Jordan Cook, hailing from Oklahoma City carded five birdies and no bogeys crediting precision iron play and superb putting for carding nines of 35-31 for their leading round.
Derek Busby and John Talley claiming home from St. Martinville & Ruston, LA, carded seven birdies and two bogeys for their leading round of 30-36.
Fifty-Six two-man mid-am teams, from 18 states, Japan and Scotland are competing in the 2016 event. The field is loaded with top amateur golfing talent that included over 400 appearances by the competitors in various USGA national championships. Average handicaps of the 112 players is +2.9 strokes per round. Average team score for day one was 70.75, just slightly under par.
Jack Burke, owner of Champions and 1956 Masters and PGA Champions advised the Cypress Creek course is an extremely difficult test of golf and is truly testing all the players to their golf course management skills. Once the wind kicks up and starts swirling around the golf course, the golfers are really going to have to be precise with their shots or face severe consequences. And the large greens put a real premium on solid putting”.
This 50th annual event is being held Champions Cypress Creek Course, which has hosted multiple USGA, Sectional and Texas events over the years. Included on that list include the Ryder Cup, US Open, Five Tour Championships, US Amateur, and will play host to the 2020 USGA Women's Open.
Round Two is scheduled for Friday, and the tournament is scheduled to complete on Sunday afternoon.
Editors Note: Story via George Adams of Champions Golf Club