Steve Johnson tallied eight birdies to shoot a 6-under 66 on Monday, taking a one-shot lead after the first round of the 53rd Tennessee Senior Amateur Championship at Rarity Bay Golf & Country Club in Vonore.
The Lookout Mountain Club member was 2-under at the turn after posting a 33, then birdied four of his final seven holes to finish the back nine in 4-under.
Randy Hill of Windstone Golf Club gave Chattanooga area golfers the top two spots on the leaderboard, shooting 5-under 67 while pouring in seven birdies on his day.
Two-time defending champion Tim Jackson joined Nashville’s Ben Robertson in third at 4-under 68. Loudon’s Mike Poe and Ken Lee of Franklin are tied for fifth at 3-under 69.
The field will be reduced to top 30 and ties after Tuesday’s round of the 54-hole event.
Jerry Matthew of Johnson City’s Blackthorn Golf Club leads the Super Senior Division after carding a round of 4-under 68, leading by one stroke over Hendersonville’s Doug Harris.
Council Fire Golf Club’s Harry Hill is in third after finishing at 2-under 70.
The Super Senior field will cut to top 15 and ties after Tuesday.
Jack Ramsey of Germantown leads the Legends Division at 4-over 76, one shot better than Harrison’s John Corum who plays out of The Ooltewah Club.
For complete results and live scoring, go to https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3990644
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com