Santee, Calif – Danville, California’s Cody Blick and Rancho Santa Fe, California’s Ryan Burgess shot a pair of 5-under 67s on Tuesday at Carlton Oaks Country Club to share the first round lead at Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada qualifying school.
Blick and Burgess are beginning their journeys as professional golfers this week, having completed collegiate careers at San Jose State and Southern Methodist University, respectively. The pair were one shot ahead of a group of five players at 4-under following the completion of round one.
Blick carded nine birdies in his early morning round to offset four bogeys, and said he knew he would need to take advantage of the good conditions before the wind picked up in the afternoon.
“The wind always picks up in the afternoon, so these morning rounds are crucial to take it low and see what you can do,” said Blick. “It seems like a ball strikers’ golf course, and so my swing coach and I just picked out our targets and stuck to it. We got it around the course pretty well today.”
Burgess, who recently completed his collegiate career at Southern Methodist University, posted the low round of the afternoon to match Blick for the head through 18 holes and credited a level-headed approach for his score.
“I kept the ball in front of me mostly and just stayed patient throughout the round. I left a couple out there but I know I gained a couple too, so that’s probably right around where I thought a good score would be,” said Burgess.