Whitt had a relatively uneventful day. Starting on No. 10, he had seven pars before he made a bogey and a birdie to close his first nine. He followed with nine more pars for his even-par score.
The field was cut to the low 60 scores and ties for the final round. The cutline fell at 8-over 152 with 67 players advancing to Sunday.
ROUND ONE
Defending champion Stewart Whitt leads the field by one shot after one round of the Alabama Mid-Amateur. His 8-under 64 at Willow Point Country Club included seven birdies and an eagle versus one bogey on his opening hole.
Whitt, of Athens, Ala., also finished in the top 10 at the Birmingham National Invitational last year. He was sixth at the Spirit of America Golf Classic in Decatur, Ala., in 2014.
“I didn’t start out great, made a bogey on one,” Whitt said. “I think that kind of settled me down a bit and then I was able to get some close toward the end of the front. I kept that going on the back. Had 4 under on the last two holes.”
Whitt’s eagle came on No. 18. He hit a 3-iron from 218 yards to 3 feet and made the putt.
Alan Coshatt of Birmingham is one shot back. Coshatt carded seven birdies on his way to firing a 7-under 65. Jordy Hayden of Fairhope, Ala., is another shot back at 6 under after back-to-back nines of 33.
A total of 21 players are under par through 18 holes with field average score of 76.5.