That’s right, Tyler Crawford’s clubs never made to the course, so he played his Wednesday practice round with a rental set. But after struggling to adjust to the stiff shafts, when he usually plays with “X100s” meant he was open to ideas at the end of the day. One of the players suggested he rifle through the closet of some of the local tournament entrants.

But another had a better idea. A local player named Jeff Britton, who in addition to being a Stocker Cup past player and Northern Cal senior amateur standout has his own home club fitting studio. He’s even got a launch monitor.

Crawford made the connection through mutual friend Jerry Ledzinski, and a couple hours later he had a set of custom clubs – albeit an unusual one with several manufacturers represented. The best part by far was the putter – a pink Scotty Cameron “My Gal” that was borrowed straight out of the golf bag of Britton’s wife.

Should Crawford’s clubs arrive, look out for him this week – he might go even lower.

Tied at the top is recent Texas Mid-Am winner Colby Harwell, who did just about everything right today.

“Just hit the driver well, hit my irons well, and putted ok too,” he said after the round.

Tied for third at 3-under are Jason Anthony of Fairfield, and highly ranked senior player Steve Hudson of Alabama. Anthony just advanced to match play at the U.S. Mid-Am where he took out the Pennsylvania legend Nathan Smith in the first round at Atlanta’s Capital City Club.

TEAM COMPETITION

At the Stocker Cup, a huge part of the vibe is about the team event, held simultaneous with the individual Mid-Am tournament. And the field of so-called B players continues to improve, perhaps faster than the A field, which has always been strong.

In the lead in the gross competition is the Colby Harwell/Jason Goble team. Goble (a scratch golfer in his own right) made five birdies on his own ball, helping four shots. At 8-under 64, they are off to a fast start in front of Patrick Christovich and Andrew Rosenberg, who posted 65 gross. Rosenberg helped 7 strokes, pitching in three birdies. But both of those B player performances pale in comparison to the way Craig Kalinowski kept his team in the competition -- he helped partner Brooks Price 17 strokes, keeping their gross at 2-under. (Price, in fairness suffered "planes, trains, and automobiles" issues getting here and arrived very late last night.)

The Net Team competition is always tight, especially early on. And that's definitely the case this year. Harwell and Goble are the first of four teams at 64. Joining them is Stephen Sparolini of San Mateo, Calif. and Jon Hastings of San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Bill Williamson of Cincinnati and Jerome Joondeph of Portola Valley, Calif.; rounding out the group at the top is Darren Johnson of Covina, Calif. and Andrew Gross of Kentfield. Gross, a 15-handicapper, shot one of the best competitive rounds of his life, an 83 that was capped off with a birdie on the 18th hole -- with a stroke for a net eagle.