Baldwin High graduate Dillon Board birdied three of his last five holes for a 7-under-par 64 at the Club at Crown Colony in Fort Myers on Friday to take a one-shot lead in the 77th Florida Open.
Board, who began his round at the 10th hole, parred his first seven before going birdie-eagle to finish the back nine. He turned and birdied Nos. 3, 5, 8 and 9 to finish ahead of defending champion Andrew Pope of Orlando (6-under 65 at Crown Colony) and Wyatt Plattner of Sarasota (65 at Crown Colony).
Florida Open leaderboard
Florida Open second-round groups, tee times
Two past University of North Florida players are in the mix. Kevin Aylwin is tied for fourth after a 66 at Crown Colony and Matthew Borchert is tied for sixth after a 67 at Cypress Lake.
“I started on the back and there are some tighter holes,” the 29-year-old Board told fsga.org about the cautious way he started his round. “I was just getting it around and ended up making some putts. The front is a little more forgiving on the front, so I was able to let it flow. I hit it really well, so overall a good day.”
Board played college golf at Brewton-Parker and Coastal Georgia before turning professional. He made three cuts in nine starts last year on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.
Two-time Florida Open winner JC Deacon, the University of Florida golf coach, former UNF player Pete Kellermann of Jacksonville and former Jacksonville University player Michael Sakane all shot 71, playing at Cypress Lake.
After one round each at Crown Colony and Cypress Lake, the cut will be made after Saturday’s second round and the final round will be on Sunday at Crown Colony.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Baldwin High product Dillon Board fires 7-under 64 to lead Florida Open