RHODES, Iowa – Cameron Kuchar got off to a fast start at The Harvester Club on Tuesday, firing a 5-under 67 to take a one-shot lead after one round of the 107th Western Junior.

Afternoon showers and the brawny 7,275-yard layout were no match for the 17-year-old Tequesta, Florida, native. With his father – nine-time PGA TOUR winner Matt Kuchar – watching every shot, Cameron Kuchar got started with a birdie on his first hole of the day after leaving himself with a perfect yardage.

“On the first hole I had 145 yards in, which has been a great number for me all week,” said Cameron Kuchar, who started on No. 10. “I tried to go middle of the green and stuck it within four feet, which set up for a good birdie on the first.”

The TCU commit went on to birdie two of his next three holes, reaching the par-5 18th tee – his ninth hole of the day – at 3-under par. With the help of his caddie, a local from The Harvester Club, he navigated the sharp 560-yard dogleg right flawlessly.

“I’ve got a great caddie here,” Cameron Kuchar said. “I got lucky. He told me, ‘The longer you hit it off the tee, the shorter you have in.’ ”

Cameron Kuchar pulled a 7-wood and found the center of the fairway, leaving himself 240 yards over water to reach the green in two. His eagle capped a 5-under 31 on his opening nine.

“I hit a nice little high cut in there, got lucky, and hit it to about six feet,” he said. “I just need to keep playing steady golf, finding greens and making putts.”

Just one shot off the lead in solo second is William Lisle, the 15-year-old from Hong Kong, who fired a bogey-free, 4-under 68, capped by birdies on his final two holes. Lisle, No. 37 in the Rolex AJGA Ranking, also played the course’s four par 3s at 2-under.

Mack Edwards, of Charlotte, North Carolina, rounds out the top three on the leaderboard. The 18-year-old North Carolina commit had a rollercoaster round, but his six birdies outweighed three bogeys for a 3-under 69 and sole possession of third place.

The 18th hole yielded 44 birdies and six eagles in the opening round. One of those eagles came from 18-year-old Trevor Gutschewski, a Florida commit and the No. 13-ranked junior, who recently competed at the 125th U.S. Open in Oakmont. The 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur champion overcame two early bogeys with a strong back nine, carding birdies on Nos. 11–13 and finishing with an eagle on 18 for a 2-under 70.

Griffin Law, an 18-year-old Chattanooga native and University of Tennessee signee, joined Gutschewski in an eight-way tie for fourth at 2-under. Law made his move with a bogey-free, 2-under back nine to charge up the leaderboard.

“My game felt pretty good,” Law said. “I made two loose bogeys on my first nine and then started hitting a lot of greens on the back. I was able to make a couple of putts down the stretch, so I am proud of myself.

The other six golfers tied for fourth includes: Kuan Zhou, of Walton-on-Thames, United Kingdom; Nathan Miller, of Dallas, Texas; Ajay Morris, of Avondale, Arizona; Austin Le, of Houston, Texas; Evan Rogers, of Duluth, Georgia; and River Stilley, of Benton, Illinois.

Twenty-three players are tied for 12th at 1-under, with 59 golfers sitting within six shots of the lead heading into Wednesday’s second round. After that, the field will be cut to the low 44 and ties, with the final 36 holes set for Thursday.

The winner this week will join Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler and Jim Furyk as a Western Junior champion. The top three finishers and ties receive exemptions into the Western Amateur at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Illinois, on July 28-Aug. 2

Attendance and parking for the Western Junior are free.

For the full leaderboard, click here.

For tee times, click here.