Chris Naegel leads Palmetto Hall eGolf event
A day after steady rain suspended play at the eGolf Tour's season-opening Palmetto Hall Championship presented by Westin Hilton Head Island, players took full advantage of ideal conditions on Thursday, with former tour winner Chris Naegel leading the way through 18 holes of completed play with a 5-under 67 -- good for a one-shot lead through Day 1 of what is now a 54-hole tournament.
Play came to a halt on Wednesday morning after two-and-a-half hours as steady rains saturated the Cupp Course to the point where tournament play was suspended for the day after all 18 greens accumulated mass amounts of water.
At 8:30 a.m. Thursday, players from Wednesday's original morning wave resumed their position on the golf course, eventually finishing the round before giving way to the second wave of first-round play -- which began at 10:10 a.m.
Naegel, a 31-year-old former Missouri Baptist University star, is no stranger to success in the area. In 2012, Naegel played in the Oldfield Open, just 20 minutes up the road from the Island. His total of 13-under-par 66-70-69-68--273 put him three shots clear of Gator Todd, in turn delivering a career-first win and the event's $25,000 first-place prize.
"I don't know what it is about this area. I really like the Bermuda greens because I feel like I can be aggressive," he said. "I also like the area as a whole. I like the laid-back atmosphere of the resorts -- kind of gels with my personality."
A plethora of talent sits one shot off Naegel's lead with matching rounds of 4-under 68. Former U.S. Amateur champion Steven Fox, three-time eGolf Tour winner Chris Thompson, two-time eGolf Tour winner Seamus Power, Travis Ross and Adam Stephenson are tied for second after 18 holes -- which took approximately 32 hours to complete.
Players still left on the course Thursday night after play was called due to darkness will return to action in the Palmetto Hall Championship at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning to complete their second rounds.
The original afternoon wave for Thursday's second round will begin play at 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Following the conclusion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 30 players and ties for Saturday's third and final round.
eGOLF Tour
Palmetto Hall Championship
Thursday-Saturday, Robert Cupp Course, Palmetto Hall Plantation
Par 72; 7,79 yards
First Round
Chris Naegel 67
Adam Stephenson 68
Steven Fox 68
Seamus Power 68
Travis Ross 68
Chris Thompson 68
Ryan Gildersleeve 69
Drew Weaver 69
Mike Furci 69
Luke Hopkins 69
Justin Peters 71
Dykes Harbin 71
Ethan Tracy 71
Ryan Sullivan 71
Derek Rende 71
Will Collins 71
Atomu Watanabe 71
Brendan Kelly 71
Brian Hughes 71
Fergal Rafferty 71
Peter Malnati 72
Vince Hatfield 72
Fielding Brewbaker 72
Andy Bare 72
Ryan Nelson 72
Matt Eschenburg 72
David Watkins 72
Colby Wilson 72
T.J. Mitchell 72
Vaita Guillaume 73
Jack Fields 73
Adam Mitchell 73
Kyle Blackston 73
T.J. Howe 73
Tommy Sikes 73
Matt Schall 74
Amory Davis 74
Tadd Fujikawa 74
Kamito (a) Hirai 74
Brad Miller 74
Tanner Ervin 74
David Erdy 74
Matthew Ryan 75
Chris McCartin 75
Bryce Ledford 75
Will Roebuck 75
Jurrian Van der Vaart 75
Greg Doherty 75
Shawn Jasper 75
Nicholas Mehigan 75
Taylor Floyd 76
Dustin Groves 76
Brian Fister 76
Julian Suri 76
Brett Lange 76
Brett Nymeyer 76
Patrick Barrett 76
Anthony Aloi 76
Garland Green 76
Brandon Hartzell 76
Sam Beach 77
Mitchell Krywulycz 77
Lee Heaton 77
Devan Bestgen 77
Ted Brown 77
Brandon Cobb 77
Frank Adams III 78
Bret Carroll 78
Alex Boyd 78
Johnny Kyger 78
Adam Webb 79
Noah Ratner 79
Michael Marshburn 79
Griffith Hunter 79
Mitch Bagley 79
Russ Adams 80
Mitchell Early 80
Bobby MacWhinnie 80
Dustin Risdon 80
Michael Wade 80
Chase Parker 81
Daniel Walsh 81
Thomas Bass 84
Zach Edmondson 84
Trevor Sahn 84
This story was originally published February 28, 2014 at 2:54 AM with the headline "Chris Naegel leads Palmetto Hall eGolf event."