RENO, Nev. (AP) — Matt Bettencourt shot a 6-under-par 66 for a one-stroke lead over PGA Tour veteran Chris DiMarco through the first round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.
Will MacKenzie, the 2006 Reno champ, is tied with Craig Bowden another stroke back at 4-under 68 at Montreux Golf & Country Club on the edge of the Sierra Nevada. A group of more than a dozen golfers at 3-under 69 includes Steve Elkington, Woody Austin, Mark Hensby and former UNLV star Chad Campbell.
Bettencourt won the 2008 Nationwide Tour Championship but has never won on the PGA Tour. The 35-year-old Northern California native hit a 355-yard drive on the par-5 17th, knocked a 4-iron 260 yards to within 3 feet of the pin and made the eagle.
