Clouse takes lead in Round One of the 43rd Texas Mid-Amateur presented by Hytera US

Alex Clouse of Midland set the pace at the 43rd Texas Mid-Amateur presented by Hytera US, carding a bogey-free 4-under 67 on Friday to take the Round One lead at Wichita Falls Country Club.

Clouse, who started his round on No. 10, kicked off his day with back-to-back pars before picking up the first birdie of his day on No. 12. He added another birdie four holes later on No. 16 to turn in two birdies through his first nine holes.

From there, Clouse carried the momentum into his final nine, carding two more birdies — on Nos. 6 and 9 — without a blemish on his card to post his bogey-free 4-under 67 and claim the clubhouse lead.

Clouse’s 67 stood alone atop a leaderboard that bunched tightly behind him, with five players within a shot of the clubhouse leader and the chase for the title shaping up as one of the more crowded fields in recent memory.

Steven Holtgrieve of Irving carded a 3-under 68 to sit alone in a tie for second, just one shot back of Clouse. Jack Cersosimo of Round Rock matched that number with his own 68 to join the group. Will Holcomb of Crockett also posted a 3-under 68 to stay within striking distance heading into the weekend. Tye Grissom of Austin rounded out his round at 68 as well, keeping himself squarely in the mix. John Hunter of The Woodlands completed the group at 3-under 68, giving the tie for second five players deep and setting up a crowded leaderboard behind Clouse.

Tied for seventh is defending champion Kade Stewart of Tomball, Zach Atkinson of Colleyville, Joshua Lim of San Antonio, Matt Cowan of Burnet, Coy Dobson of Austin and Brad Mason of Dallas, who all carded a 1-under 70. Stewart’s clean start to his title defense headlines the group, three shots back of Clouse heading into Saturday.

A 13-man group is tied for 13th at even par 71, and it includes three players with Texas Mid-Amateur championship pedigree. Colby Harwell of San Antonio, Chris Wheeler and Rob Couture of Celina all carded 71s to stay within reach of the lead heading into the weekend. They’re joined in the group by Ben Carter of Dallas, Tyler Lehmann of San Antonio, Brian Marchiori of San Antonio, Alex Bury of Austin, Franklin Hatchett of Austin, Mike Masowich of Fort Worth, Russell Chabaud of The Woodlands, Shreyas Konana of Austin and John Beringer of San Antonio. Also in the group is David Reed of Wichita Falls, the lone host-area player to post a round in the even-par group.

In total, 25 players finished Round One at even par or better, underscoring how scoreable Wichita Falls Country Club played in good conditions on Friday and setting up a tightly bunched leaderboard heading into moving day.

Friday’s opening round played under cloudy skies at Wichita Falls Country Club, with temperatures ranging from the mid-60s in the morning to the upper 70s by afternoon and a chance of rain throughout the day.

After Saturday’s second round, the field will be cut to the low 40 players and ties before Sunday’s final round.

To see results from Round One, click here. To learn more about Hytera US, click here. To learn more about the 43rd Texas Mid-Amateur presented by Hytera US, click here.