Junction City, OR (My Sportsbook) - Ryan Hietala and Matt Bettencourt fired matching seven-under 65s to share the first-round lead Thursday at the Oregon Classic.
Nationwide Tour money leader Brendon de Jonge shot a five-under 67 to share third place with Darron Stiles, Bubba Dickerson and B.J. Staten.
Eleven more players were tied one stroke further back at 68.
With just four events remaining before the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship, players are desperate for good finishes as they jockey for position on the money list.
They're playing not only for entry into the Tour Championship, but also for a spot inside the top 25 on the money list -- and a guaranteed PGA Tour card for next season.
The first-round scores at Shadow Hills Country Club reflected that: 100 players in a field of 156 were even-par or better.
Teeing off on the 10th tee in a morning threesome, Hietala set the early pace with a bogey-free 65 that included three birdies over his final five holes. It was a marked improvement over last week, when Hietala went 75-72 and missed the cut in Boise -- his hometown.
"I just hit a little funk," said the Cox Classic winner. "My friend said, 'It's an anomaly, it's over with, it shouldn't have happened, take it in stride and move forward.'"
The missed cut came during an important stretch and dropped Hietala from 17th to 20th on the money list. But he wasn't making any excuses for the lapse, preferring to look ahead.
"I played poorly. Whatever happens, I'm not going to put pressure on myself," said Hietala. "I've been there before. I know what it's all about.
"Subconsciously you think about it. It pops in your head that [your] 20th and about 20 thousand (dollars) short of securing the card. You start thinking about all these things but you can't let it affect your golf."
Bettencourt, sitting 53rd on the money list and needing a boost, played in one of the last groups off the 10th tee and also posted a bogey-free round to tie Hietala for the lead. He made five birdies during one seven-hole stretch.
In three previous starts at this tournament, Bettencourt made just one cut.
"That says something right there if you love the golf course but you've never played well," he said. "You generally don't have to shoot crazy-low scores out here to feel good about yourself."
