City Am Day 1: Kilgo Capitalizes on Home Game

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Day 1 of the Charlotte City Amateur is in the books, with the Round 1 cut (top 50 and ties) falling at +4. It was a topsy-turvy opening round at Raintree County Club, which featured a wide range of scores and some eye-catching performances from several pre-tournament favorites. We had boots on the ground today for an up-close look at the action, so here are 3 things that stood out from Friday’s action.

CHARLOTTE CITY AM

3 Things from Charlotte City Am Round 1

#1 - Kilgo Capitalizes on Home-Course Advantage to Take 2-Shot Lead

Raintree member Matt Kilgo played a brilliant 1st round, posting a bogey-free 65 (-7) to open up a 2-shot lead over Philip Oweida and defending champion Pearse Lucas (view full leaderboard). Playing competitive golf on your home course can be a blessing or a curse, but the weight of expectation didn’t seem to bother the 2018 North Carolina Mid-Amateur champion - nor did the crowd of onlookers gathered to watch him close out his opening round. The 3 leaders (Kilgo, Oweida, Lucas) are off at 10:50 tomorrow at Myers Park Country Club.

#2 - Course/Conditions Combo Yields Strange Scoring Disparity

There were plenty of birdies to be had at Raintree, as the seasonably soft bent grass greens were extremely receptive to approach shots. 23 players shot even par or better, with 5 scores in the 60s. If you start scrolling scorecards, however, you’ll notice that big numbers were equally in play, with 22 players shooting 80 or higher.

Raintree’s South course features generally narrow corridors throughout, with many fairways bordered by thick rough, water, or OB stakes. While those able to keep the ball in play were afforded opportunities to score, it didn’t take much more than a loose swing at the wrong time to see one’s City Am chances dashed.

These factors, combined with a light breeze that freshened later in the day, contributed to some surprising Day 1 MC’s, including my pick to win, Will Register (79, +7), and his co-runner-up from 2024, Cameron Warner III (81, +9).

#3 - Setup Variety = City Am Charm

Thinking ahead to tomorrow’s round at Myers Park, I can’t help but smile thinking about how different the test will be for those competing on Saturday. MPCC isn’t exactly a bombers paradise, but the Donald Ross layout is going to feel wide-open to players coming off 18 holes at Raintree! This type of day-to-day variety is one of the best features of the rotating host model employed by the event, as it provides for a wholistic golfing examination and, ultimately, a very worthy champion.

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