Reifers, McGovern Share Lead in U.S. Amateur Golf

Randy Reifers and Jim McGovern, golfers with divergent backgrounds, shot two-under-par 70s Tuesday to share the first-round lead at the 87th U.S. Amateur Championship.

Reifers is a 39-year-old furniture manufacturer’s representative with a wife and two kids in Dublin, Ohio. McGovern, of Oradell, N.J., is a 22-year-old senior at Old Dominion University who has spent most of his summer playing golf.

They recorded their 70s on the 6,542-yard Village Course, considered the less difficult of the two Jupiter Hills Country Club courses used for the 36-hole medal-play portion of the tournament. The other course is the 6,542-yard Hills Course, where all of the match-play portion of the event will be contested.

McGovern’s round was more impressive than Reifers because it came in the afternoon. Only five other golfers were under par, and four of them played in the morning before the sun and wind dried out the greens.

Kevin Johnson of Pembroke, Mass., and Nicholas DeKock of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, shot 71s on the Hills. Thomas Dyer of Melrose, Mass., and Allen Doyle of LaGrange, Ga., had 71s on the Village.

Scott Gump of Merritt Island, Fla., carded a 71 on the Village course in the afternoon.

Ten of the 13 players at even-par 72 played in the morning.

Defending champion Buddy Alexander of Baton Rouge, La., shot a 76 in the afternoon.

Gary Nicklaus had a 79 but his gallery was the largest of the day because it included his father, Jack, who won this event in 1959 and 1961.

After today’s round, the field will be reduced to 64 players for the match-play portion of the tournament, which is scheduled to end Sunday.