NEWTON, Kan. (July 14, 2014) -- Michael Colgate, a golfer at University of Nebraska-Kearney, UNLV's Zane Thomas and Canadian mid-amateur Garrett Rank share the lead late in Day 1 at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
At Sand Creek Station, the unlikely trio shot identical 5-under 66s in Round 1 of stroke-play qualifying at the final installment of the event ahead of the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championships next year.
Thomas Lim of the University of Oregon and Pacific's Byron Meth both carded 4-under 67s and sit tied for fourth place while a group of six players are at 3-under after opening with 68s.
Defending champions Jordan Niebrugge of Oklahoma State is tied for 74th after shooting 3-over 74 in Round 1.
Rank was the qualifying medalist a year ago and seems poised to contend for that honor for another year. He'll enter Tuesday's second and final round of stroke-play qualifying with a share of the lead.
The top 64 finishers after Tuesday's round will advance to the event's match-play portion, which runs through Saturday's finale.
AmateurGolf.com will continue to provide coverage throughout the week from the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. For a full look at the first-round leaderboard, follow the results link below.
U.S. Public Links: Rank, Thomas, Colgate share early lead
Garrett Rank, last year's qualifying medalist, shares the lead with Michael Colgate and Zane Thomas