Austyn Reily shot 64 (-6) to seize the lead after the first round of the AAC Championship at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Reily is two shots ahead of teammate Santiago De La Fuente (66) and two others.
Houston leads the team competition by five shots over UCF. The Cougars shot 272 (-8) as a team, also counting scores from Wolfgang Glawe and Jacob Borow, who both shot 71 (+1).
Reily made three eagles in his first 11 holes to take the lead, despite not making a birdie to that point. It was the first time in his life that he’d made three eagles in a round.
“The three eagles were nuts,” Austyn said after his round. “Had a feeling with the wedge I haven’t had in a long time.
All three eagles were hole outs from 30-50 yards:
On #1, he drove it green side and sank a 30-yard pitch. On the par-5 seventh hole, he was green-side in two and holed out another 30-yard pitch.
On #11, he was in the middle of the fairway, with 51 yards to the hole. That wedge took two hops, hit the flag and went in.
“It was honestly indescribable with how confident I felt,” he said.
De La Fuente continued his hot play with six birdies on the par-70, 6881-yard course. Borow was +3 after five holes but made four birdies in his next 11.
For Saturday’s second round, UH begins teeing off at 10:10 a.m. Eastern, with Reily going off at 11:02.
