Sissonville – Former Marshall standout Will Evans had very little trouble with the Edgewood Country Club layout Wednesday morning in round one of the 91st West Virginia Open Championship.
The current professional from Charleston offset one bogey with eight birdies and an eagle to fire a 9-under par round of 62, building a three-shot advantage over Christian Brand.
Brand, who demolished the W.Va. Amateur field for a 21-shot victory back in May, carded five birdies, an eagle and one bogey to shoot 65.
A total of 30 players shot par or better on the first day including Beckley native Isaiah Zaccheo and South Charleston’s Joseph Kalaskey with a 66.
Current West Virginia University golfer and former Shady Spring state champion Todd Duncan is among three players five shots back following a round of 67.
David Bradshaw from Harpers Ferry has 12 W.Va. Open titles to his credit and sits at 3-under par along with another former Shady Spring standout and current Marshall golfer Tanner Vest.
Four-time Mountain State Golf Classic champion Davey Jude is eight back after shooting 70.
Round two of the championship will begin Thursday morning at 8 a.m. At the conclusion of play Thursday, the field will be cut to the lowest 60 scores and ties who will advance to the final round on Friday.
Legendary professional golfer Sam Snead holds the record for the most W.Va. Open wins at 17 between 1936 and 1973.
Complete scoring can be found at the link below:
https://wvga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/wvga24/event/wvga2474/contest/1/leaderboard.htm