Four young Utah professionals fired 9-under-par 63s at Riverside Country Club Friday and share the first-round lead at the Larry H. Miller Utah Open.
Spanish Fork’s Jackson Rhees shot his sterling round in the morning wave, while Alpine’s Carson Lundell, Farmington’s Braxton Watts and Salt Lake’s Tyson Shelley matched Rhees’ score in the afternoon.
Rhees, a first-year pro who played collegiately at Utah Tech, made nine birdies to go with nine pars. Lundell, a former BYU golfer who recently won the $50,000 first prize at the Colorado Open, made seven birdies and added an eagle at the par-4 16th hole.
Watts, who played for the University of Utah, shot a 6-under-par 30 on the back nine, while Shelley, who completed his career at BYU in the spring, had a bogeyless round like the other leaders.
One stroke back with a 64 is another ex-BYU golfer and former State Amateur champion Simon Kwon, while current BYU golfer Angus Klintworth, a native of South Africa, is alone at 65.
Former champions Blake Tomlinson and Pete Stone head a group of six golfers at 6-under-par 66 that also includes Rhett Rasmussen, Todd Tanner, Jordan Gibbs and amateur Jackson Mauss.
In all, 71 golfers shot under par Friday.
Defending champion Kihei Akina is not playing after competing at the U.S. Amateur earlier in the week.
The second round of the 54-hole $150,000 event is Saturday, after which the field will be cut to the low 60 players and ties for Sunday’s final round.
The winning professional will earn $25,000.