Matt Liston (L) and Jamie Mist lead at the CC of Columbus (CCofC photo)

Liston, a rising junior at the University of Kentucky, got off to about the hottest start possible, making birdies on six of his first seven holes (all except the par-5 4th) to get to 6 under. He cooled off from there but was still 6 under until a bogey on the 18th dropped him to -5 for the day.

Mist went the other way, riding a roller coaster over his first few holes, then kicking it into another gear. Over his first five holes, Mist collected the whole set of scores: an eagle (#1), birdie (#4), par (#2), bogey (#5) and a double (#3). From there he found his groove and consistent red numbers, with five birdies the rest of the way with no more dropped shots.

Bryan Wiyang Teoh, a Malaysian native who moved to Jupiter, FL and is now committed to play for UCLA starting this fall, is one shot back after a 66. Chip Thomas, a rising Junior at tMiddle Tennessee State, is also at that number. Like Liston, Thomas started off hot, going 5 under through 4 holes and 7 under through 10. But a bogey on 13 and a double at the short par-3 16th knocked him back.

Three players sit tied for fifth at 3-under 67: Mercer freshman Nolan Miller (Columbus, GA), Mississippi State rising junior Garrett Johnson (Hayden, AL) and rising Florida Southern senior Christian Anderson (Ocala, FL).

Scoring was good at the classic Donald Ross course, with 15 players breaking par and another 8 matching it. It remains to be seen whether the all-time scoring record of 18-under 262 set last year by Jonathan Hardee will be threatened this year.

The tournament continues Thursday with round two starting at 8:30am. Mist is in the first group at 8:30, while Liston has an afternoon tee time.