AUGUSTA — Several northeast Georgia golfers are in the thick of things after the opening round Monday of the GSGA Junior Championship at the Augusta Country Club.
Blairsville's Beck Burnette tied for fifth after shooting a 3-under par 69. He is just one off the lead (4-under 68) which is shared by four other players.
Burnett, a Lee University-signee, opened with a birdie on No. 1 but fell to 1-over after bogeys at Nos. 5 and 6. But he finished strong with a birdie on No. 8, an eagle three on the Par 5 11th, and closed out his round with another birdie on No. 18.
A trio of Gainesville High standouts had mixed results on the first day of the 36-hole event. Ryan Davidson also fired a 3-under 69 to sit tied for fifth. Davidson also started strong with a birdie on No. 1 and added birdies on Nos. 12, 14, and 15 sandwiched around bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13 on the day.
But Red Elephants Sam Patterson and Andrew Hughes did not fare as well in the opening round. Both sat in a tie for 71st after shooting 4-over 76s. Patterson bogeyed Nos. 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, and 14 to go with a pair of birdies on Nos. 13 and 17. Hughes had a rough start with a triple-bogey 7 on No. 2 and a double-bogey 7 on No. 5. He also bogeyed Nos. 6 and 12. But after falling to 6-over on No. 6 he managed a small rally with birdies on Nos. 8, 9, and 16 to get to 4-over.
All four northeast Georgia area players will be back in action on Tuesday.
Another Gainesville High standout, Alex Hughes, withdrew from the tournament.
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