Canada’s Taylor Leads 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links After First-Round 66

Norman, Okla. – Nick Taylor, 21, of Canada, shot a 5-under-par 66 on Monday to take the lead in the first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, at the par-71, 7,289-yard Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.

Nick Taylor, 21, of Canada, shot the lowest first round at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links with a 5-under 66. (USGA Museum)

Taylor, who recently tied for 36th and was the low amateur at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park, arrived in Norman fresh off a victory one week ago at the Sahalee Players Championship – a prestigious amateur event held at the site of the 2010 U.S. Senior Open, Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. The University of Washington senior kept his remarkable summer going at the Amateur Public Links with a six-birdie, one-bogey effort that included a 4-under-par 31 on his second nine.

“I hit it really well today, and I think I hit every fairway, which definitely helps staying out of the Bermuda rough,” said Taylor. “I only missed one green and all my birdies were close putts. I was just trying to keep it in the fairway and not be too aggressive.”

Taylor concluded his first nine with a birdie on the 584-yard par-5 18th (he began his round on hole 10), and then catapulted himself into the lead with three straight birdies on holes 3-5. He nearly holed a sand wedge shot for eagle on the 328-yard par-4 third, hit an 8-iron to 4 feet on the 464-yard par-4 fourth, and sank an 8-foot birdie putt on the 621-yard par-5 fifth.

Taylor added a birdie on the longest par-4 on the course – the 505-yard eighth hole – to outpace recent University of New Mexico graduate Nick Geyer’s 4-under 67 by one stroke.

Geyer, 21, of Albuquerque, N.M., took advantage of an early starting time as temperatures for the afternoon soared to a high mark of 104 degrees. With many spectators and volunteers seeking a respite from the extremely hot conditions, and greens on the golf course being syringed regularly to protect against the high temperatures, Geyer offered a player’s perspective on the heat.

“It’s hot, but there’s a lot of people not playing golf today, especially competitively, so I’m just happy to be out here,” said Geyer. “These are our majors, so whether you hit it good or bad, I couldn’t help but smile.”

Geyer had five birdies and a bogey in his round, highlighted by a 6-iron he hit to two feet on the 434-yard, par-4 seventh hole. After bogeying the sixth hole with a three putt, Geyer rallied with his birdie at seven, which began a stretch where he birdied four out of five holes.

Geyer sits one stroke ahead of a group of players that posted 3-under-par 68s, including Oklahoma State’s Rickie Fowler, 20, of Murrieta, Calif., Drake University’s Ben Freeman, 20, of Fargo, N.D., and University of Missouri freshman Jace Long, 19, of Dixon, Mo.

Defending champion Jack Newman, 21, of Des Moines, Iowa, shot a 7-over-par 78.  He finished tied for 39th in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., on Sunday and then drove through the night to arrive in Norman, Okla., in time to begin his first round as the defending champion of the U.S. Amateur Public Links.

The second round of stroke play qualifying is scheduled to finish on Tuesday. The low 64 scorers will advance to the match play portion of the championship, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday and conclude on Saturday.

The U.S. Amateur Public Links, established in 1922 for bona fide public course players, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Story written by David Normoyle and Dave Fanucchi of the USGA Communications staff. For questions or comments, contact them at dnormoyle@usga.org or dfanucchi@usga.org.

Norman, Okla. – Results following Monday’s first round of stroke play at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-71, 7,289-yard Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club:

Nick Taylor, Canada - 31-35--66

Nick Geyer, Albuquerque, N.M. - 33-34--67

Ben Freeman, Fargo, N.D. - 34-34--68

Jace Long, Dixon, Mo. - 35-33--68

Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif. - 33-35--68

Chris Marin, Monterey, Calif. - 35-34--69

Hank Frame, Spokane, Wash. - 34-35--69

Robert Hoadley, Southern Pines, N.C. - 35-34--69

Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill. - 38-32--70

Jake An, Korea - 35-35--70

Jon Sauer, St Cloud, Minn. - 36-34--70

Luke Guthrie, Quincy, Ill. - 35-35--70

Steve Galko, Dallas, Texas - 35-35--70

Todd Obergoenner, Cape Girardeau, Mo. - 33-37--70

Brandon Crick, Mccook, Neb. - 34-37--71

Jeff Dennis, Jacksonville, Fla. - 37-34--71

Michael Brown, Cheltenham, Pa. - 37-34--71

Phillip Bryan, Norman, Okla. - 35-36--71

Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa. - 34-37--71

Tommy Sikes, Midland, Texas - 36-35--71

Travis Ross, Crookston, Minn. - 33-38--71

Anders Albertson, Woodstock, Ga. - 37-35--72

Andy Roberts, Owensboro, Ky. - 36-36--72

Cason Hammock, Columbus, Ga. - 35-37--72

Christopher Scialo, New City, N.Y. - 34-38--72

Cody Paladino, Kensington, Conn. - 35-37--72

Corey Nagy, Charlotte, N.C. - 36-36--72

David McDaniel, Tucson, Ariz. - 39-33--72

Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif. - 36-36--72

Jared Wolfe, Louisville, Ky. - 35-37--72

Lion Kim, Ann Arbor, Mich. - 35-37--72

Peter O'Neill, Carmel, Ind. - 37-35--72

Sam Chien, San Diego, Calif. - 35-37--72

Sam Lyons, Myrtle Beach, S.C. - 35-37--72

Sean Maekawa, Paauilo, Hawaii - 35-37--72

Zach Barlow, Percy, Ill. - 35-37--72

Austin Bowman, Pryor, Okla. - 37-36--73

Braxton Marquez, Scottsdale, Ariz. - 37-36--73

Brett Munson, Louisville, Ky. - 37-36--73

Chase Wilson, Hickory, N.C. - 36-37--73

Chris Polski, Eugene, Ore. - 35-38--73

Craig Cyr, Concord, N.H. - 36-37--73

Garren Poirier, Killington, Vt. - 35-38--73

Jeff Williams, Chuluota, Fla. - 36-37--73

John Chin, Temecula, Calif. - 35-38--73

Jordan Johnstun, Evans, Ga. - 38-35--73

Josh Jones, Dallas, Texas - 35-38--73

Liam Logan, Fort Worth, Texas - 38-35--73

Matt Nagy, Buena Vista, Ga. - 38-35--73

Peter Williamson, Hanover, N.H. - 35-38--73

Ricky Jones, Thomaston, Maine - 36-37--73

Ryan Perez, Ewa Beach, Hawaii - 38-35--73

Scott Barton, Bend, Ore. - 37-36--73

Tom Whitney, La Quinta, Calif. - 39-34--73

Tommy Murray, Orange Park, Fla. - 37-36--73

Wesley Bryan, Chapin, S.C. - 35-38--73

Zahkai Brown, Arvada, Colo. - 37-36--73

Brent Blaum, Coral Gables, Fla. - 38-36--74

Brent Booth, Los Altos, Calif. - 39-35--74

Cameron Peck, Olympia, Wash. - 36-38--74

David Johnson, Palm Bay, Fla. - 35-39--74

Gene Webster Jr, San Bernardino, Calif. - 35-39--74

J J Spaun, San Dimas, Calif. - 35-39--74

James Erkenbeck, San Diego, Calif. - 32-42--74

Josh Brock, Wilmington, N.C. - 35-39--74

Josh Gregory, Augusta, Ga. - 37-37--74

Julian Suri, Saint Augustine, Fla. - 36-38--74

Mitch Krywulycz, Australia - 35-39--74

Sang Yi, Carrollton, Texas - 36-38--74

Sihwan Kim, Korea - 39-35--74

Alton Anderson Jr, Thousand Oaks, Calif. - 36-39--75

Brenton Flynn, Nashville, Tenn. - 37-38--75

Brian Haskell, St Joseph, Mo. - 37-38--75

Brian Marchiori, San Antonio, Texas - 37-38--75

Bryan Pierce, Arroyo Grande, Calif. - 39-36--75

Danny Lewis, Morrow, Ohio - 38-37--75

Federico Damus, Argentina - 36-39--75

Jack Schultz, Whitefish Bay, Wis. - 39-36--75

Jesse Massie, Louisville, Ky. - 38-37--75

John Lee, Los Alamitos, Calif. - 38-37--75

Kyle Scott, South Africa - 36-39--75

Michael Ignasiak, Saline, Mich. - 39-36--75

Peter Lansburgh, Elk Grove, Calif. - 36-39--75

Robert Riesen, Pinehurst, N.C. - 36-39--75

Scott Newton, Carrollton, Texas - 37-38--75

Steven Wilson, St Martin, Miss. - 37-38--75

Thomas Petts, Canada - 40-35--75

Thomas Timby, Doylestown, Pa. - 38-37--75

Zach Sebert, Grove City, Ohio - 37-38--75

Andrew Frame, Manteno, Ill. - 37-39--76

Andrew Noto, Luling, La. - 39-37--76

Bobby McCartney, Penfield, N.Y. - 40-36--76

Brad Hastings, Easton, Md. - 39-37--76

Erik Flores, Grass Valley, Calif. - 36-40--76

James Dewling, Brighton, Mich. - 37-39--76

Jon Lindstrom, Denver, Colo. - 38-38--76

Kelly Kretz, Antigo, Wis. - 36-40--76

Mike Kirby, Falls Church, Va. - 38-38--76

Ryan Black, Port St Lucie, Fla. - 38-38--76

Ryan Hom, New York, N.Y. - 38-38--76

Ryan Sloane, Campbell, Calif. - 39-37--76

Spencer Williams, Great Falls, Mont. - 38-38--76

Tim Fisher, Statts Mills, W.Va. - 38-38--76

Tim Madigan, Rio Rancho, N.M. - 38-38--76

Zack Blair, Ogden, Utah - 39-37--76

Andy Hansen, Mequon, Wis. - 41-36--77

Dan Sullivan, Pasadena, Calif. - 41-36--77

Eric Johnson, Marquette, Mich. - 40-37--77

Jason Wood, Piedmont, Okla. - 38-39--77

John Mlynarski, St Michaels, Md. - 36-41--77

Jon Brown, Urbandale, Iowa - 40-37--77

Jordan Shuey, Mechanicsburg, Pa. - 41-36--77

Kyle Peterman, Springfield, Ill. - 39-38--77

Thomas McCarthy, Tolland, Conn. - 39-38--77

Tim Kay, Bartlett, Ill. - 39-38--77

Anthony Aloi, Plainsboro, N.J. - 38-40--78

Beon Yeong Lee, Canada - 40-38--78

Brendan Doyle, Beverly Hills, Calif. - 38-40--78

Corbin Mills, Easley, S.C. - 38-40--78

Ian Hoffman, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. - 39-39--78

Ian McConnell, Riverview, Fla. - 40-38--78

Jack Newman, Des Moines, Iowa - 38-40--78

Jared Dalga, Grand Rapids, Mich. - 37-41--78

Josh Vornsand, Henderson, Nev. - 43-35--78

Kellen Erdman, Rocky River, Ohio - 42-36--78

Kyle Pritchard, Houston, Texas - 39-39--78

Matthew Williams, Albuquerque, N.M. - 40-38--78

Maximilian Greil, Germany - 38-40--78

Brent Paladino, Kensington, Conn. - 38-41--79

Brent Shaw, Tampa, Fla. - 41-38--79

Cash Wilkerson, Spring, Texas - 40-39--79

David Jennings, Washington, Utah - 38-41--79

Kent Monas, Perry, Ohio - 40-39--79

Skyler Hong, La Jolla, Calif. - 40-39--79

Stephen Zane, Kula, Hawaii - 38-41--79

Zack Fischer, Texarkana, Texas - 38-41--79

David Smith, Plymouth, Minn. - 39-41--80

John Darby, Hoover, Ala. - 44-36--80

Randall Boll, Dayton, Ohio - 41-39--80

Scott Miller, Wyckoff, N.J. - 39-41--80

Donnie Shin, Silver Spring, Md. - 40-41--81

Jonathan McCaslin, Olympia, Wash. - 39-42--81

Kevin Wentworth, Arnold, Calif. - 40-41--81

Tim Hamm, Chicago, Ill. - 38-43--81

Trevor Bowman, Harpster, Ohio - 44-37--81

Dillon Rust, Edmond, Okla. - 42-40--82

Lance Gillett, Cocoa Beach, Fla. - 45-37--82

Marc Noel, Abbeville, La. - 44-38--82

Kyle Leach, Louisville, Ky. - 42-41--83

Scott Sexton, Irvine, Calif. - 43-40--83

Ted Vickerman, Chaska, Minn. - 42-42--84

Greg Sanders, Anchorage, Alaska - 41-44--85

Michael May, Big Piney, Wyo. - 44-41--85

Alex Volpenhein, Edgewood, Ky. - 41-46--87

Joel Archer, Stuart, Fla. - 46-41--87

Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. - WD-WD--WD