Smith's 1-under 71 was good for the first-round lead of the 54-hole Cleveland Junior Open at Red Tail Golf Club in Avon.
Scott Smith was the only player to post a round under par in Monday's opening 18 at the Cleveland Junior Open.AVON, Ohio -- On a day when par was as treasured as a backstage pass to a Dave Matthews concert, Scott Smith was the only one with a ticket to the front door.
Smith, a two-time all-Ohioan from University School and Pepper Pike, shot a 1-under 71 on Tuesday and had the first-round lead of the 54-hole Cleveland Junior Open at Red Tail Golf Club in Avon.
Smith, a senior who finished in a tie for seventh in last year's Division II state tournament, had a one-shot lead in the boys competition and Allison Harper, who graduated from Upper Arlington and is headed to Marshall, led the girls by one after a 73.
Red Tail, playing to 6,809 yards for the boys and 5,967 yards for the girls and aided by a steady breeze, stubbornly gave up birdies. That Smith, a Plain Dealer All-Star last fall, was the only player in the field of 117 to break par was unexpected.
"I'm very surprised," said Smith, who has undergone two surgeries on his right knee in the last 11 months. "I know a lot of the players in the field and they are very good players. I thought for sure that a lot of them would go low. The wind was a definite factor."
This event, formerly known as the SAP Junior Open, has never had a winner from Northeastern Ohio.
Smith bogeyed the first and fifth holes but played the final 13 holes in 3 under to hold a one-shot lead over Francesco Ruffino, a 15-year-old from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and a two-shot margin over Andrew Wong, 17, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.
It was not a good day for area players. Medina's Mike Bishop (75) was the only other area player in the top 10 and Girard's Boo Timko, an Ohio State recruit, and Dayton's Alec Tahy were the only Ohioans in the top 10. The St. Ignatius contingent -- sophomore Beau Titsworth (78), junior Matt Gerard (78), senior Anthony Maroon (78), senior Connor McCafferty (80) and graduate Kyle Kmiecik (81) all had their struggles.
Smith had the lead thanks to a pair of back-to-back long birdie putts and a sterling 9-iron approach that ended up one foot away when it appeared he was on his way to a bogey or worse.
On the 385-yard seventh, he made a 15-foot putt after a 7-iron from 175 yards. On the 180-yard eighth, he made a 20-footer after another 7-iron. His most adventurous birdie came at the 495-yard 13th, when he hooked his tee shot just inside the woods, punched out to 160 yards and knocked in a 12-incher.