Alex Goff tees off today at Druid Hills (U of Kentucky via Twitter)

Goff, a senior this past season at Kentucky, and Brumlow, a sophomore at Georgia, both shot 6-under-par 66 in the first of the four rounds scheduled for this week on the par-72 layout.

Once again, the Dogwood tournament is kicking off the summer schedule in amateur golf following the completion of the 2023 collegiate season with last week's NCAA tournament.

A group of four golfers trails the co-leaders by just a stroke after the opening 18 holes, while another six players are only two shots back of the leaders going into round two.

It was a day for red figures for sure at Druid Hills, as 58 players in the 103-player field finished below par.

Brumlow had seven birdies in his opening round.

“I played real simple golf today,” he said. “I just kept it in front of me and hit a lot of shots to 10 and 20 feet.

“After the practice round, I saw that the golf course was in similar shape as last year, and with the weather looking good, I thought it would play similar to last year which was basically like 5-under every day.”

Brumlow is from nearby Cartersville where he won a state individual championship in high school and was the Georgia Player of the Year in 2021. He tied for 12th last year in the Dogwood, finishing at 12-under for the tournament with four sub-par rounds.

Goff finished second at the SEC tournament this spring, played at Sea Island Golf Club on the Georgia coast. The 2020 Kentucky Amateur Champion had four birdies on each nine in his opening round Wednesday and also made a bogey on each side of the course.

The group at 5-under includes Canadian mid-amateur Garrett Rank who always plays well at the Dogwood. Rank, who is currently sixth in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings, has been the tourney’s low mid-am the last two years. In 2021, he tied for second overall when he finished just two strokes behind the champion and last year Rank finished tied for 10th.

Also opening with a 5-under 67 on Wednesday was John DuBois who helped the Florida Gators to this year’s national title last week. DuBois won the SEC individual title last year at Sea Island’s Seaside Course where he helped the Gators claim the team championship this season.

Among the players who opened with a 4-under 68 on Wednesday was Georgia Southern’s Parker Claxton who had four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 14th hole in his opening round. He hit a 5-wood into the wind from about 235 yards to 25 feet on the hole and made the putt for the three.

“I drove it well today and was able to make some putts,” said Claxton who played for the Eagles this year as a freshman. “It’s always nice to see some putts go in and get off to a good start.”

Two University of Georgia players - Maxwell Ford and Connor Creasy - are also in the group tied for seventh after shooting 68 in round one. Creasy tied for 18th last year at Druid Hills.

Last year’s winner Carson Barcha opened with a 69 and is among a large group of players tied for 13th after the first 18 holes. The Auburn standout shot 67 in the first round last year before going on to win by five shots with a 22-under score.