Masen McKain, a sophomore on the Eastern Florida State golf team, shot a 1-under-par 70 to grab the first round lead in the 64th Annual Platinum Coast Invitational at Rockledge Country Club.
McKain is seeking to become the 2nd straight EFSC player to claim the historic championship, following the 2023 victory by Bryan Hernandez.
McKain, who is from New Smyrna Beach, carded six birdies on his round and has a three-stroke lead over a tightly grouped championship flight.
“Great playing by Masen today, the wind really picked up and combined with the slick greens at Rockledge Country Club, scoring was extremely difficult today”, said Rockledge PGA Professional Matt Morrison. “The Championship flight is very grouped together and anyone in that flight will have a chance going into the final round tomorrow.”
In second place, three strokes back, are Jeff Moritz (73) and Daniel Adams (73). The remainder of the championship flight in contention for the overall title include Ryan Mulhern (74), Mike Chouinard (74), Grey Cooke (75), Zach McGoffin (75), Tim Monroe (77), Kevin Altenhof (77), and Dan Getson (77)
Final round play begins at 8 a.m. Sunday at Rockledge Country Club.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Platinum Coast Invitation Round 1: Masen McKain leads by three strokes
