After a sweltering opening round in Raleigh, three players emerged at the top of the leaderboard at the Rex Hospital Open.
Justin Peters, Kyle Reifers and Matt Richardson all shot identical 6-under 65s Thursday at TPC Wakefield to take a one-shot lead over a group of five players at 5-under in this Nationwide Tour event.
"I felt like I had a good, consistent rhythm," said Peters, who was bogey-free with six birdies. "I had a 30-footer on the 7th, a capper to get me to 6-under. It's nice to play with no bogeys."
Peters, who has been playing mini-tour events in recent weeks, said he got a little motivation after Monday-qualifier Andy Bare played well during the morning action Thursday.
"I saw him shoot 5-under, and it pushed me a little bit," Peters said of his friend.
Bare is tied for second with J.J. Killeen, Martin Flores, Gary Christian and Michael Sims. Bare was the early clubhouse leader until a flurry of low scores in the afternoon session.
"It's not been a good year for me, especially with my status," said Bare, who also has been playing in mini-tour events this year. "I've been chasing Mondays and not playing well. It's very frustrating, and it's hard to stay positive. But it's nice to play well today when it counts."
Defending champion John Riegger struggled to a 2-over 73, and Carter Jenkins, the 15-year-old high schooler who played his way into the field this past weekend, finished with a 5-over 76.
J. Eric Eckard writes about all things golf on his second golfer blog. You also can follow him on Twitter.
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