Branshaw grabs one-shot lead on a day of aces in Utah

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SANDY, Utah -- On a day when football, hurricanes, and politics seem to be the main talking points, history was made at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank on Thursday. Four aces were scored in the morning session, all on the front nine, and the most ever in a single round on the Nationwide Tour.

David Branshaw carded nine birdies and a bogey en route to his opening 63. (Badz/PGA TOUR)

Inside the Numbers

Branshaw thru 18 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 0 N/A Birdies 9 1 Pars 8 T140 Bogeys 1 T116 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 91.7% T2 Driving Distance 290.5 yds. T102 Greens in Regulation 83.3% T6 Putts per Round 27.0 T18 Putts per GIR 1.667 T34 Sand Saves 0 N/A

Peter Tomasulo (67) started the proceedings when he holed a 7-iron at the 203-yard second hole at Willow Creek Country Club. Forty minutes later, Chris Stroud (67) repeated the feat at the same hole with a 6-iron. Brian Stuard (69) made the third ace of the day when he dunked a 7-iron at the 191-yard seventh hole. Jonathon Fricke (68) rounded out the foursome of aces with the club-du-jour, a 7-iron, at the 176-yard fifth hole.

The last time three aces were made on the same day in a Nationwide Tour event was during the first round of last year's Albertson's Boise Open. Four aces were scored on the same day, on the same hole, at the 1989 U.S. Open at Oak Hill.

David Branshaw didn't come close to a hole-in-one, but he did equal the tournament record, shooting an 8-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead over Kyle Thompson and Brendon Todd, who are at 7 under.

Tied for fourth at 6-under 65 are Colt Knost, Bubba Dickerson, Dave Schultz and Australia's Mark Leishman.

Nine players are tied for eighth at 5 under, including 48-year-old Bobby Clampett, who attended Brigham Young University, and local hero Daniel Summerhays.

Tampa resident Branshaw, who lost a playoff to Ryan Hietala at the Cox Classic last month, was stung by a bee on the second hole and his finger started to swell.

"I guess the bee didn't sting me long enough," joked Branshaw. "The paramedics came out after 10 minutes and told me if I wasn't dead by now then I'd be OK."

Branshaw was seemingly unaffected by the inconvenient sting as he reeled off three birdies before three-putting the ninth hole to make the turn at 3 under.

"I hit a really poor 9-iron into the green there," said Branshaw. "I blocked it 60 feet right and it's not difficult to three-putt from there on that green."

The playoff loss and a tie for third at the Nationwide Tour Players Cup have Branshaw at No. 17 on the money list, and he is looking to secure his place in The 25 and earn his way back to the PGA TOUR.

"I'm just trying to get into contention every week and let things take care of themselves," said the New York native. "I'm going to learn more from being in contention than running away with the tournament. There's nothing like being in the hunt."

Todd started his round eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie to tie Michael Putnam (2006) for the best birdie-eagle streak at the Utah Championship and equal the best streak on Tour this year. A bogey at the ninth halted his run but birdies at holes 10, 12, 13, and 14 got him to 9 under and the tournament lead. A bogey, par, bogey finish dropped Todd to 7 under, a shot off the lead.

Thompson chipped in at the 10th hole for eagle then followed that with a 50-footer for birdie on No. 11. He has spent the year on the PGA TOUR after finishing 14th on last year's Nationwide Tour money list, where he has made six cuts from 19 events but he did play the Nationwide Tour Chitimacha Louisiana Open earlier this year where he finished second.

"It's been a bit of a challenge on the PGA TOUR," said Thompson. "I'm definitely a rookie out there, but my game is coming around. I have a little more comfort out here because I know all the courses."

Knost, one of three multiple winners this year, is refreshed after the week off last week. He started on the back nine and had a stretch of five birdies in six holes in the middle of his round, including a 20-footer on the 18th hole that broke six feet.

"Other than that putt on 18, everything else was pretty close," said Knost after his bogey-free round. "We had a good group today. It was fun. Pete (Tomasulo) had an ace. I almost made it right in front of him then he banked it off the hill and it went in. It was awesome. All I need to do now is win here, get out on TOUR for the Fall Finish, and gain some more experience out there."

Look out. A refreshed Colt is a dangerous Colt.

First-Round News & Notes: Chris Perry and Tommy Tolles withdrew before the start of the first round. ... The "Fins and Pins" competition for the players, friends and family was decided on Tuesday. Nick Malinowski (71) won the "Fins" section, catching a 7.5-pound trout in the lake beside the ninth hole while Craig Kanada (70) and his caddie teamed to win the 10-pin bowling competition. ... Jonathan Fricke eagled the par-5 third hole to go with his ace at the fifth. ... Won Joon Lee (68) was 6 under through 12 holes but bogeyed four of his last six. ... Scott Piercy (70, Jarrod Lyle (67) and Colt Knost (65) are all two-time winners on the Nationwide Tour looking for a third win to earn a "battlefield" promotion to the PGA TOUR. ... Jeff Curl (66) had 22 putts. ... 75 rounds below 70 were posted in the opening round. ... The scoring average was 69.808. ... The most difficult hole was the par-4 sixth, which averaged 4.179, while the easiest hole was a tie with the par-5 first and 17th holes both averaging 4.615.