Clemson’s Turk Pettit shot a 2-under par first round at the US Amateur. (GolfClub Photo)

Clemson golfer Turk Pettit and Gamecock golfer Ryan Hall  posted the best scores among the 9 golfers with Palmetto State ties at the US Amateur being played at Bandon Dunes, Oregon.

McClure Meissner, a rising senior at SMU, shot an 8-under par 64 to hold a 1-shot lead over two golfers.

Oklahoma State and Easley native Aman Gupta is tied with Baylor’s Travis McInroe for second place.

The 264 golfers are playing the 36 hole qualifying rounds on two different courses with different par values.

South Carolina’s Ryan Hall is within the cut line after the first round at the US Amateur. (USC Photo)

Pettit and Hall each finished their first rounds at 2-under par. Pettit’s 2-under par is a 69 at the Bandon Trails course while Hall’s 2-under par is a 70 at the Bandon Dunes course.

Georgia All-American Trent Phillips, from Boiling Springs, had the third best score among SC connected golfers finishing his first round in stroke play qualifying at even par 71 tied for 43rd.

The other six golfers from South Carolina have a lot of ground to make up if they hope to extend their stay in Oregon.

Georgia sophomore Trent Phillips from Boiling Springs shot an even par first round at the US Amateur. (GolfClub file photo)

Other scores: 126 – Jacob Bridgeman +4, 184 – Colby Patton +7, 184 – Logan Sowell +7, 218 – Trevor Phillips +9, 244 – Zach Taylor +11,  252 – Jamie Wilson +12

Complete scores athttps://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2020/u-s–amateur.html#!scoring