Jeff Overton holds 18-hole lead upon suspension of play at the Magnit Championship

Things to Know

Jeff Overton cards a bogey-free 7-under 65 for his best opening round and is in position to hold his first 18-hole lead/co-lead on the Korn Ferry Tour

New Jersey native Chris Gotterup clinches best 18-hole position in his 24th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour

Daniel Summerhays sits one stroke off the lead with one hole to finish on Friday morning and is in position to hold his best 18-hole position of the season

Round one will resume at 7:00 a.m. with the second-round tee times running from 7:30 a.m. through 2:57 p.m. local time off the first and 10th tees

First-Round Lead Notes

3: First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023

- Nicholas Lindheim – The Ascendant presented by Blue

- Pierceson Coody – Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper

- Alejandro Tosti – Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna

Jeff Overton (1st/-7)

Making his eighth start of the season via the Exempt Medical category, opens with bogey-free 7-under 65 (one eagle, five birdies) for his best opening round on the Korn Ferry Tour

In position to hold his first 18-hole lead/co-lead in his 24th career start on Tour (previous best 18-hole position: T2/2007 Henrico County Open/finished T13)

Making eighth start of the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season (missed cut in each of previous seven starts)

Turned professional in 2005 out of Indiana University, where he was the 2004-05 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and the 2005 Big Ten Championship individual medalist

Earned PGA TOUR membership via T13 finish at 2005 PGA TOUR Q-School, advancing through all three stages in his first attempt to earn TOUR card for 2006

Has 297 career starts on the PGA TOUR, including four runner-up finishes and 2010 Ryder Cup appearance · Overton returned to competitive golf last season after five years following complications from back surgery in 2017

Chris Gotterup (2nd/-6)

Former Little Silver, New Jersey resident posts 6-under 66 with seven birdies against one bogey

- Birdies all four par 5s (Nos. 3, 6, 12, 14) and three par 4s (Nos. 9, 10, 18), makes lone bogey at par-4 17th

Looks to clinch best 18-hole position in his 24th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour (previous best: T8/Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club/finished T48)

In 19 previous starts this season, owns 10 top-25s – highlighted by two top-10s – and 16 made cuts

Made 13 starts on the PGA TOUR in the last two seasons, highlighted by a T4 at the 2022 John Deere Classic and T7 at the 2022 Puerto Rico Open while still an amateur

Qualified for the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals via the Nos. 126-200 Non-Member FedExCup Points category, in addition to earning an exemption for Final Stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (finished T3 for guaranteed starts in first 12 events of the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season)

Turned professional in 2022 after four seasons at Rutgers University (2018-21) and one season at the University of Oklahoma (2021-22), finishing No. 7 in the 2022 PGA TOUR University Class of 2022

In lone season at Oklahoma, won the 2021-22 Jack Nicklaus (Division I) and Fred Haskins Awards – two of three collegiate national player of the year awards – in addition to garnering consensus All-America First Team recognition

Highlights from four seasons at Rutgers included the 2019-20 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year award and two All-Big Ten honors

Notably won the 2019 New Jersey Open and 2019 Met Amateur

Quotables

Jeff Overton on what was going right for him in the first round… “It was awesome. Anytime you play and you make almost every putt you look at, it's going to be a good day. It was fun. Kept it in play really well. I didn't really know what to expect. I worked with my teacher, Craig Harmon, last week and changed my grip a little bit. I was like worried where the ball was going to go, but it was working great. I got back to kind of sling hooking it a little bit more and it was a lot of fun out there.”

Overton on rebounding after seven consecutive missed cuts… “It feels great. I mean, with the back it's been an uphill battle, up-and-down battle. It's not exactly been great all year, but I've been making the best of it. And it's exciting to finally have a good Round 1 and be in kind of the mix of it, but there's a lot of golf left. Keep getting it in play and keep making putts.”

Overton on his comeback since his back injury… “It's hard. I think people don't realize how hard it is to come to golf courses a lot of times for the first time and really get comfortable on them. And then not to mention like really know the way the greens break and the little caveats, per se. You know, it was nice you got on a tighter golf course. Nobody's ever really seen this place, maybe not quite as comfortable. I kind of was able to take advantage of the first round.”

Chris Gotterup on playing well in his hometown… “I was definitely nervous to start the day for sure. Just really internal pressure to perform for everyone, family and friends. “So, it makes me focus the whole round and make sure I’m in it and give them as many good shots as I can.”

Notes

Ryan McCormick (T3/-5), a West Long Branch, New Jersey native who plays from Middletown, cards 5-under 67 and sits inside the top 15 after 18 holes for the fifth time in his last eight starts

Alejandro Tosti (T11/-4 through 16 holes), Wil Bateman (T3/-5) and Rob Oppenheim (T3/-5) have carded a field-leading eight birdies apiece

Three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Nicholas Lindheim (T3/-5) rolls in six birdies against one bogey and sits inside the top five after 18 holes for the third time this season (T1/The Ascendant presented by Blue/Won; 1st/Club Car Championship at the Landings Golf & Athletic Club/finished T8); he has top-10s in five of six Korn Ferry Tour starts this season

Patrick Welch (T3/-5), who finished No. 8 on the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking, is making his 10th Korn Ferry Tour start and posts 5-under 66 with six birdies against one bogey, looks to sit inside the top 10 for the first time after any round this season (previous best 18-hole position: T17/BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX/missed cut)

Daniel Summerhayes (T3/-5) looks to hold the best 18-hole position of the season (previous: T15/Compliance Solutions Championship/finished T30)