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Trio tied for lead after opening round
Rob McKelvey posted a five-
under-par 67 on Thursday to grab a share of the opening-round lead in
the Buy.com Tri-Cities Open at Meadow Springs Golf and Country Club.
The 31-year-old McKelvey will begin round two tied with 24-year-old
rookie Zach Johnson and 46-year-old veteran Don Reese.
A total of 20 players are within three shots of the top of the
leaderboard, including 2000 winners J.J. Henry (Knoxville Open), Ben
Crane (Wichita Open) and Shane Bertsch (Upstate Classic).
McKelvey, who captured the Louisiana Open in April for his first
Buy.com Tour victory, teed off on the back nine first and made three
straight birdies right out of the gate. He made his only mistake of
the day with a bogey on the 14th, but recovered the lost stroke and
then some with birdies on the first, second and eighth holes.
"I had a good rhythm today," said McKelvey, who has made the cut
in 12 of his last 13 starts and tied for fourth at last week's Utah
Classic. "I hit a lot of solid shots and I made some good putts
starting out so it helps to set the tone for the day. Just played nice
and relaxed."
Johnson, who tied for 55th last week after missing the cut in
each of his six previous starts, made eight birdies and three bogeys
on Thursday. Johnson would have had sole possession of the lead if not
for three missed putts from inside three feet.
"You're going to miss a couple of those now and then," said
Johnson, a native of Iowa who was a three-time winner on the Prairie
Tour.
Reese, a veteran of 194 Buy.com Tour events heading into this
week's action, enjoyed a five-birdie, no-bogey round.
"This is one of my favorite golf courses out here," said Reese of
the 6,957-yard Meadow Springs layout. "You have to think. You have to
put it in the fairway."
Reese, who captured the Lake City Classic back in 1991 for his
lone Buy.com Tour title, hit 13 of 14 fairways in the first round.
Utah Classic champion Andrew Morse is six shots off the pace
after a 73.
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