5 days ago
Ryan Gear posts 67 at Timuquana to take the first-round lead in Jacksonville Amateur
Ryan Gear of St. Augustine went on a birdie run in the middle of his round and with a 5-under 67, grabbed a one-shot lead in the first round of the Jacksonville Amateur Golf Association Championship in July 24 at the Timuquana Country Club.
Gear, who played high school golf at Nease and has followed his father Sean in playing for Embry-Riddle, leads Lance LaCombe of Jacksonville (68) by one shot.
Gear began his round at No. 10, was 1-over through five holes, then birdied Nos. 15, 16, 18 and 1, and bounced back from a bogey at the second hole with birdies at Nos. 4 and 7 wrapped around an eagle at the par-5 sixth.
LaCombe also had a hot streak during his round. He birdied four of six holes from Nos. 5 through 10, and ended the day with a birdie at No. 18.
Past and future North Florida Ospreys in the mix
Five players posted 3-under 69, former University of North Florida player Joe Stepnes, Luke Splane of St. Augustine, Colton Swartz of Fleming Island and Cameron Reed and Landon Durham of Ponte Vedra Beach.
Splane is a rising senior at St. Augustine High School, Swartz is a junior at Florida Southern and Reed is a freshman at Furman.
Five more players are tied at 2-under 70, led by past JAGA champion and former UNF player Jordan Batchelor, UNF sophomore Danny Erickson of Ponte Vedra, incoming UNF freshman Luke Balaskiewicz of Jacksonville, Mercer sophomore Connor Holcroft of Ponte Vedra and Kennesaw State freshman Ryan Nicholson of Ponte Vedra.
The temperatures were hot but the scores low for the opening round of the first JAGA Amateur ever played at the historic Donald Ross course. Twenty players are under par.
The field will be cut in half after the second round on July 25 and the final round will be July 26.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ryan Gear rides birdie streak to take Jacksonville Amateur lead
