David Markle of Shelburn, Ontario and Matt Parziale of Brockton, MA shot 68 in the first round of the Barrett Amateur Championship at the Algonquin Golf Course on Saturday. Markle was 2 under par 34 on the front nine with birdies on 2 and 9. Birdies on 12, 16 & 17 led to a one under par 34 on the back nine. Markle currently plays golf at Kent State University and he is ranked 27th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, making him the highest ranked Canadian in the field. Parziale was one under par on his front nine and 2 under par on the back to finish at -3. Birdies on 6, 7, 9, 15, 16 & 18 contributed to Parziale’s strong performance on Saturday.

Brad Larente of Cambridge, ON and Anthony Warren of Charlottetown, PEI find themselves tied in 3rd after rounds of 69. Larente, playing in his first Barrett Amateur, went 35, 34 while Warren, the 2008 PEI Amateur Champion, went 32, 37.

Two-time defending champion Bill Seagris of Amherstburgh, ON shot a one over par 72 to open this year’s championship. Seagris was in the first group of the day and play much of his round in heavy fog. The first round was delayed on two different occasions for fog, leaving the field about 4 hours behind the originally scheduled tee times. Play was suspended at 8:47PM leaving six groups needing to come back Sunday morning to finish their 1st rounds. Round 1 will continue at 7:30AM while tee times for Round 2 will commence at 8:30AM. Among the players still on the course is John Peterson of Texas, who sits at 3 under par with 3 holes to play.

Two players fired opening rounds of 1 under par 70 on Saturday. The players at 70 are Jacques Blaaus of South Africa and Ryan Chin of Toronto. Sitting at even par 71 are Sean Hurley of Nova Scotia, Jace Walker of Ontario, Scott Genoway of Alberta, David Williamson of Nova Scotia and Fredericton, New Brunswick’s Charlie Martin.

The 8th playing of the Barrett Amateur has garnered attention for its strong field. This year’s Barrett carries a field of 100 golfers, the largest field the event has ever had. Players in the field come from 6 different countries – South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Honduras, the United States and Canada. The US players in the field come from 5 different States (Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Texas) while 8 of Canada’s 10 provinces are represented.