It is Greyson Porter who sits atop the leaderboard after the first round of the 100th Amateur Championship. With sunny skies and a comfortable breeze, 168 of Florida's best amateur golfers teed off this morning at either The Bear's Club or Lost Tree Club in Jupiter with hopes of becoming the 100th State Amateur Champion. Coming out the gate strong was Florida State golfer Greyson Porter of Clearwater.
Playing Lost Tree Club for the first round, Porter's 5-under par 67 can be attributed to five birdies, one eagle, and only two bogeys. After starting out with four consecutive pars, Greyson holed out from 120 yards on the 372 yard, par-4 fifth hole to get under-par early in his round. Making the turn at 1-under par, Greyson finished strong with four birdies and no bogeys to card the round to beat, a five-under par 67. "I think it was just managing my game throughout the day," Porter said about his round this morning. "I think if I can manage my game like I did today tomorrow, it should be a pretty good day." Greyson will make the short drive to The Bear's Club tomorrow where he will tee off at 9:48 A.M. in hopes of increasing his one-shot lead.
Closely behind Porter at 4-under par is University of South Florida senior Cristian DiMarco. Unlike Porter, DiMarco played at The Bear's Club today where he carded one eagle, three birdies, and just one bogey to shoot 68. DiMarco started off with three pars before taking advantage of his long distance by hitting the par-5 fourth hole in two. "I stayed patient and made some nice mid-range putts," DiMarco said. One of his mid-range putts came on the final hole where he drained a 20-foot birdie putt to gain sole possession of second place after round one.
In total, 19 players finished the first round even or under par, including 2014 Amateur Champion Gabriel Lench. Two players, one each at The Bear's Club & Lost Tree Club, had a hole-in-one. The first hole-in-one of the day came from Logan Lanier on the fourteenth hole at Lost Tree Club. The second hole-in-one came from Zach Justice at The Bear's Club on the seventh hole.
The second round of the 100th Amateur Championship will begin tomorrow morning with tee times beginning at 8:00 A.M. off of both the 1st and 10th tees. Participants who played The Bear's Club this morning will play Lost Tree Club tomorrow and visa versa. Media and spectators are welcome to attend and Live Scoring will be available after nine holes.
