Jul. 19—More than 150 golfers converged on Westmoor Country Club in Brookfield on Monday, but only five could tame the beast.
Eau Claire’s Matt Tolan was one of them.
Tolan fired a 69 at the first round of the Wisconsin Amateur Championship, finishing the day at 1-under. He was one of five golfers to shoot under par and is tied for third headed into Tuesday’s second round.
Zak Kulka, of Beaver Dam, leads the field at 6-under.
Tolan, an Eau Claire North graduate and former University of South Dakota golfer, closed strong to put himself in contention on Monday. Entering the final five holes at 1-over, he birdied his 14th and 15th holes of the day to get under par.
Tolan is seeking a second career state amateur championship. He won the event in 2017. He was the runner-up in 2019 and took fourth last summer.
Chippewa Falls’ Thomas Longbella, the defending champion at the tournament, carded a 73 in the first round and sits at 3-over and tied for 17th. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher recovered from a shaky start. He bogeyed his third hole and made a double bogey on his fifth, but made just one bogey the rest of the way.
Spring Valley’s Tyler Leach shot a 79 and is tied for 87th at 7-over.
Eau Claire’s Will Schlitz and Rice Lake’s Ben Resnick are tied for 95th at 10-over with a first-round 80. Schlitz’s Eau Claire Memorial teammate Cole Fisher carded an 85.
The tournament consists of four rounds, with the field cut to the lowest 70 scores plus ties after the second round on Tuesday.