Eau Claire's Tolan in tie for lead at Wisconsin State Open
Aug. 16—Eau Claire native Matt Tolan is tied for the lead at the Wisconsin State Open after the first round of action on Monday in Mequon.
He fired a first-round 66 to enter the clubhouse at 4 under par and shares the lead with Germantown's Austin Kendziorski and Madison's Peter Webb. Tolan had the best front nine performance of any golfer in the field and stayed strong the rest of the way to grab a piece of the lead.
Tolan got out to a hot start with birdies on the first three holes, and added another on the fifth. He was consistent on the back nine, making eight pars and sinking a birdie on the 15th. His lone bogey came on the eighth hole.
Tolan, formerly of Eau Claire North and the University of South Dakota, tees off in the second round at 12:24 p.m. on Tuesday. He'll look to separate from Kendziorski, Webb, and the rest of the pack. Tolan tied for 44th at last year's State Open.
Eau Claire's Ryan Isaacson, a former UW-Eau Claire golfer and current coach of the Eau Claire Memorial boys team, is tied for 23rd after the first round. He shot a 71 and sits at 1 over par. Isaacson overcame three bogeys on the front nine with eight pars and a birdie on the back nine. He also birdied the third hole.
Spring Valley's Tyler Leach is tied for 44th after an opening-round 73. He was 1 over par at the turn to the back nine, but slipped a bit with a double bogey on the 11th. He made a pair of birdies in the first round.
Eau Claire's Nicholas Kulig and Cole Fisher are both in a tie for 135th with matching 81s.
The second round of the four-round tournament tees off on Tuesday. Play wraps up on Wednesday with the third and fourth rounds contained to a single day. Ozaukee Country Club proved to be a challenge on Monday, with only 12 golfers going under par in the first round. The State Open is open to both professionals and amateurs.
