The sun has set on the opening round of the Casella Golf Championship, with players facing a stiff challenge from the always-demanding Pinehaven Country Club, widely regarded as one of the toughest courses on the Tour. That reputation held true on Friday, as only 16 players managed to post under-par rounds. Among them, Sophia Schubert and Sarah Kahn led the way, both carding scores of 68.

Schubert teed off in the morning wave and got off to a rocky start, bogeying her opening hole. However, she quickly turned things around as she approached the turn, collecting birdies on holes six, seven, and nine to go out in 2-under 33.

Her back nine was steadier and bogey-free. The standout moment of the round came on the par-4 12th, where the Tennessee native holed out for eagle from just over 100 yards. Schubert, already a winner on the Epson Tour with a victory at the 2021 Carolina Golf Classic presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, is in familiar territory near the top of the leaderboard.

“I bogeyed the first hole, which for me seems to be good luck,” said Schubert with a smile. “When I bogey the first hole, I tend to have a pretty good day. I don’t know if it kind of just frees me up, but overall it just came pretty easy.”

The afternoon belonged to Sarah Kahn. Like Schubert, Kahn also opened with a bogey—but she bounced back with back-to-back birdies on holes two and three. She added two more birdies on holes six and eight to make the turn at 3-under 32.

The back nine was up and down, but still ended up in an under-par fashion. Two birdies early in the nine moved Kahn to 5-under for the tournament, but it was short-lived. Two bogeys followed on the next three holes, pushing her down the leaderboard to 3-under. The last birdie of the day came on hole 17, with a closing par putting her in a tie for the lead for the first time in her career.

“I was so nervous all day. I was kind of freaking out, but my putter was helping everything,” said Kahn. “Even though I was super jittery and super excited the whole day, I kind of just relied on knowing I was going to make some putts out there.”

The second round of the Casella Golf Championship will begin at 7:30 a.m. local time with a cut to be made to the top 60 and ties at the conclusion of play.

Schubert and Kahn Share Lead After Tough Opening Round at Casella Golf Championship

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