First round leader Nick Moore
(NCGA Photo)

After nearly missing his tee time when he was involved in a car accident en route to the course, a sore Moore went on to take the first round lead in this year’s NCGA Public Links Championship, carding a 1-over 72 Monday at Poppy Hills Golf Course.

Moore, the 2015 NCGA Player of the Year and a member at Bayonet/Black Horse GC, was the epitome of steady. The 2015 Public Links champion and record three-time NCGA Valley Amateur winner would card 15 pars and tack on a birdie on the par-5 9th to go against just two bogeys.

While Moore is atop for now, there’s a slew of players right on his heels. Five players—Aleksei Koika, Jeremy Villafuerte, Tanner Makimoto, Anthony Valdez and defending champion Matt Cohn—are just a stroke behind after opening with matching scores of 73. Valdez had a nice turnaround, posting a back-nine 34 after opening with a 39 on the front.

Valdez had a nice turnaround, posting a back-nine 34 after opening with a 39 on the front. Cohn, meanwhile, looked to be in great shape after a front-nine 33. The E-club San Francisco member would however stumble at the end, playing his last three holes at 4-over due in part to a closing double-bogey on the 18th.

Also having a nice opening round was Bayonet/Black Horse GC member Steve Donnelly. A 58-year-old regular on the NCGA Senior circuit, Donnelly opened with a 76, leaving him just four strokes off the lead.

Coming off a third place finish at last year’s championship, Moore is no stranger to playing through adversity. When he won Player of the Year honors in 2015, he’d secure the title by capturing the Valley Am after getting through a grueling 9-hole playoff in nearly 100 degree heat. In order for Moore to have won Player of the Year honors, he had to win the Valley Am title.

Tuesday’s second round will see play shift over to par-72 Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside. Play will begin at 7:30 a.m., with the leaders going off at 9:31 a.m.