Arkansas golfers Julian Perico and Segundo Oliva Pinto got off to hot starts on Monday at the 120th U.S. Amateur Championship in Bandon, Ore.
Perico fired a 4-under 67 in an early morning round at the Bandon Trails Course, while Oliva Pinto, playing in the next group, followed him with a 3-under 68 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
McClure Meissner, of SMU, fired an 8-under 64 on the Bandon Dunes Course to take the first-round lead. Aman Gupta, a sophomore at Oklahoma State, who had a 7-birdie 29 on the front nine, shot a 7-under 64 on the Trails course.
The players will swap courses for Tuesday's final round of stroke play. The top 64 players will open match play on Wednesday.
UA seniors William Buhl and Mason Overstreet have their work cut out to make the cut to 64.
Buhl, playing a morning round on the Bandon Dunes Course, shot a 3-over 75. Overstreet, whose 2:52 p.m. Central tee time was pushed well back, struggled with a 10-over 81 on Bandon Trails in intensifying coastal winds as the afternoon wore on.
Perico, of Peru, birdied both par 5s on the front nine — Nos. 3 and 9 — as well as the par 4 6th hole to make the turn at 3 under. He improved to 4 under with a birdie at 10, before notching his first bogeys on the next two holes. Perico then birdied Nos. 13, 15 and 16 to reach 5 under before wrapping up his round with a closing bogey.
Oliva Pinto, of Argentina, also made the turn at 3 under with birdies at Nos. 3, 8 and 9. The transfer from North Carolina-Wilmington bogeyed the 509-yard par 4 11th, then notched back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to reach 3 under.
Buhl had a wild ride on the Dunes course after opening with three consecutive pars. He had back-to-back bogeys but recovered with birdies on the par 3 6th and the par 5 9th to make the turn at even par.
On the back nine, Buhl posted three bogeys, a double bogey and two birdies.