Seeing becomes believing for Boyd

Jason Boyd first learned about the Lilac Invitational golf tournament from his close friend and fellow Gateway Tour competitor Mark Worthington.

“He told me it was a fun tournament,” Boyd recalled.

That Boyd might have been a bit skeptical of his friend’s tout is understandable, considering Worthington is a two-time Lilac champion. But on Thursday afternoon, Boyd learned for himself about all the fun that can be had at the region’s only 72-hole event.

Despite failing to birdie either of the two par-5s on the front nine, the 26-year-old resident of Stockton, Calif., scorched The Fairways at West Terrace with an opening-round 63 that put him two strokes clear of the rest of field heading into today’s second round.

“This makes it even more fun than Mark said it was,” Boyd said following an impressive 9-under-par Lilac debut that featured seven birdies and an eagle on the 513-yard, par-5 14th hole. “It was really weird, because I shot 63 and still felt like I left a few strokes out there. But there’s no way I’m giving that round back.”

Boyd’s total left him two strokes ahead of Worthington, Conner Robbins, Matt Hartley and defending champion Chris Ming, who all posted opening-round 65s. Another shot back at 66 were Josh Williams, Tom Robillard and amateur Corey Whittle, who works in The Fairways’ pro shop and is serving as the assistant director of this year’s 46th annual Lilac event.

Boyd, who made the long drive from Stockton earlier in the week, toured The Fairways’ 6,541-yard layout for the first time during a practice round on Wednesday and then proceeded to thoroughly dominate it one day later, thanks to some precision shot-making that produced several kick-in birdie putts.

“I birdied the first hole with a 15-footer, which was a good putt to start off with,” said Boyd, who turned in a modest 3-under 33 before burning up the back nine with a 6-under 30. “But after not birdieing those first two par-5s and only being 1-under after the first five holes, it felt like I was a couple of shots behind the field right away, because those par-5s are pretty easy.

“When you have a 6-iron and an 8-iron in, you’ve got to do something with them, and I didn’t. But when you birdie a couple of par-3s, that helps make up for it.”

Boyd started his charge on the back nine with birdies at 11, 12 and 13 and then eagled the 14th with a long putt from just off the green.

“Going 5-under through those four holes got me going,” he said. “I missed a couple of other good chances coming in, but made a lucky putt on 18 for another birdie.”

Robbins, a regular on the AG Spanos Tour in California, gave much of the credit for his opening-round 65 to the new “claw” grip he is using on his putter.

“I went to it about a month ago,” explained the 25-year-old Bremerton resident, who finished fourth in last year’s Lilac, “and it’s just been a treat. I putted really solid again today.”

Whittle, a Moses Lake resident and a student at Eastern Washington University, used the first sub-70 round of his life to post the low amateur score of the day.

“I’ve never shot in the 60s before,” said the 2-handicapper, who started his day in spectacular fashion by birdieing the first two holes and making an eagle-3 at the 515-yard, par-5 third. “It was a dream round for me. Hopefully, I can keep it going.”

Whittle knows that it takes low numbers to stay in contention at The Fairways – especially when weather conditions are as benign as they were on Thursday.

Apparently, so does Boyd, even though he is competing in his first Lilac.

“I saw the scores from last year when Troy (Kelly) shot back-to-back 63 on the weekend and didn’t even win,” Boyd said. “So I knew coming in that I needed to take it deep. My plan is to stay aggressive, because everybody out here his firing right at the flags and going for everything.”

Jerry Zink, the director of golf at The Fairways, took the first-round lead in the Senior Pro Division with 2-under 70. Las Vegas resident Tom Story, who won his third consecutive Senior Pro championship last year, is not competing in this year’s Lilac Invitational.

Play continues today, with tee times starting at 7 a.m. The tournament is open, free of charge, to the general public.