Three amateurs and one professional top the leader board.
The morning wave of 63 players at the West Virginia Open Championship took advantage of the cooler temperatures, before the afternoon wave of 65 played in 90-plus-degree weather.
Amateurs Todd Duncan of Daniels, Ryan Bilby and Bosten Miller of Hurricane join professional (p) Mason Williams of Bridgeport at the top of the leader board at to under par 68.
Sitting in a seven-way tie for fifth, at one under par 69, are Ben Palmer of Parkersburg, Alex Easthorn (p) of Ravenswood, Jack Michael of Huntington, Sam O’Dell of Hurricnae, Jeff Ferrell of Fairmont, defending champion Christian Brand of Scott and Jonathan Clark of Hurricane.
As the afternoon wave began at 12:30, the temperatures began to rise into the 90s. “This is a tough test of golf,” said WVGA Interim Executive Director Chris Slack. “We’re excited that this state championship is being held back at Berry Hills Country Club for the first time since 2015 and we are looking forward to the next two days of competitive golf among our state’s best professional and amateur golfers.”
The annual Coca-Cola Shootout took place Tuesday afternoon on the front nine at Berry Hills Country Club. Coca-Cola is one of the longest standing sponsors of the West Virginia open and has been host to the Coke shootout over the last 25 years. 12-time West Virginia Open Champion David Bradshaw was victorious, winning the specialty event for the fifth time in his career.
“We are pleased to serve as the presenting sponsor for the 90th West Virginia Open Championship,” Dr. Greg Rosencrance, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals said. “Part of our mission is to support the communities we serve and we are thrilled to welcome this tournament to the Kanawha Valley this year. We wish all of the players luck as they compete for the championship this week.”
Round two of the championship will begin Thursday morning at 7:30 with tee times off of the front and back nine. At the conclusion of play, the field will be cut to the lowest 60 scores and ties who will advance to the final round on Friday.
The WVOPEN Championship has a rich 89-year history. Legendary professional golfer Sam Snead holds the record for the most WV OPEN victories at 17. The defending champion is three-time winner Christian Brand. The WV OPEN features the best amateur and professional golfers in West Virginia.
For today’s leaderboard, visit WV Open Leaderboard. You can follow along with live scoring of the 90th West Virginia Open by CLICKING HERE.
For more information please visit wvga.org.