JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Arkansas men’s golf junior Taylor Moore made the start of his third straight appearance at the U.S. Amateur a memorable one on Monday, firing a six-under 66 on the Atlanta Athletic Club’s Riverside Course to sit in tie for the lead.
Moore’s 66 featured a pair of nine-hole scores of three-under 33 to place him in a three-way tie with Jimmy Beck and Sam Horsfield for the first round lead. Beck’s six-under 65 came on the Highlands Course which is a par 71, while Horsfield also shot 66 on the Riverside Course which is a par 72. The trio sits atop a leaderboard of 312 players that will be cut to 64 after Tuesday’s final round of stroke play.
A PING All-Central Region selection as a sophomore, Moore’s round was near flawless with seven birdies and just one bogey. Moore played the par 4s at three-under with four birdies and collected five birdies over a seven-hole stretch from No. 7 – No. 13. Due to playing in the afternoon round on Monday, Moore will tee off at 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday at the Highlands Course.
Also playing the Riverside Course on Monday, junior Nicolas Echavarria put himself inside the 64-player cut after the first round with a one-under 71 to sit in a tie for 24th place. The winner of the 2014 Mexican Amateur that earned him an exemption into the U.S. Amateur, Echavarria started on the back nine and made the turn at two-over, but battled back with four birdies over his final nine holes to shoot one-under.
Current Razorbacks Zach Coats and Alec Tahy fired 75 and 76 on Monday, respectively. Coats’ three-over 75 came on the Riverside Course while Tahy’s was five-over on the Highlands Course.
Recent graduates Josh Eure and Blake Biddle are each within striking distance of the current 64-player cut. Eure fired a two-over 73 on the Highlands Course, highlighted by a two-under 34 on the back nine. Biddle opened with a 75 on the Riverside Course.
With such a large field, the stroke play portion is split between the Highlands Course and the Riverside Course. Every round of match play will take place on the Highlands Course.
Live scoring every nine holes and updates are available at www.USGA.org or by following @RazorbackMGolf on twitter.
@RazorbackMGolf Player Standings
T1. Taylor Moore – 66
T24. Nicolas Echavarria – 71
T105. Josh Eure – 73
T133. Blake Biddle – 75
T133. Zach Coats – 75
T207. Alec Tahy – 76
@RazorbackMGolf Tuesday Tee Times (Course)
Zach Coats – 7:55 a.m. (Highlands Course)
Taylor Moore – 8:50 a.m. (Highlands Course)
Nicolas Echavarria – 12:15 p.m. (Highlands Course)
Alec Tahy – 12:15 p.m. (Riverside Course)
Blake Biddle – 1:05 p.m. (Riverside Course)
Josh Eure – 2:00 p.m. (Riverside Course)