First-time Maryland Open entry Patrick McCormick vaulted past five former champions who have combined for 10 titles to take the first-round lead with a 3-under-par 68 in the 93rd edition of the Maryland State Golf Association event at Lakewood Country Club in Rockville, July, 14.

McCormick, 24, a second-year member at Baltimore Country Club where he has a plus-1 handicap, finished a 35-33 round with six birdies, three bogeys, with his longest putt a 20-footer at No. 11. The Loyola University graduate, now in the real estate business, is a self-proclaimed “weekend warrior” player who qualified by tying for the second lowest score at the Suburban Club event in May, a 72. In close pursuit after shooting 69’s over the 36-35–71, 6,982-yard course are four-time champion and co-low professionals; Chip Sullivan; two-time (including being the defender) titlist Denny McCarthy, 2012 MSGA Amateur winner Josh Eure, and former PGA Player-of-the-Year Jimmy Estes. The other sub-par shooters (70) were Joe Scheffres and Matt Sughrue.

Among the 69’s, Sullivan , director of golf at Hanging Rock Golf Club in Salem, Va., hit 16 greens and took advantage of the par 5’s for two birdies and ended with three birdies, one bogey; Eure, a recent University of Arkansas graduate, highlighted his tour with six birdies, and Estes had five birdies, three bogeys. The course played long and wet after a heavy overnight rain, but still had a packed leaderboard with 25 players at 71-72-73. That group included former champions David Hutsell (2011) and Sean Bosdosh (2012) at 71 and Matt Bassler (2009) at 73.

Professional Jong Joo, from Broad Run Golf Practice Facility in Bristow, Va., had a hole-in-one, his third at the 180-yard 13th, where he hit a 6-iron shot. He finished at 72. Weather conditions, especially lightning, forced play to be suspended for two hours in the late afternoon and even so only one group was halted by darkness. They will complete the round July 15, and will come right back to play the second round. At the end of the day the field of 124 will be cut to the low 40 and ties for the third and final round on July 16.

-Reported by John Stewart from Lakewood Country Club