Players tend to choke when facing the adversities of a bigger stage, but KU golfer Gary Woodland, Topeka junior, proved himself with opening round 70, or even par, at the 105th U.S. Amateur Championship yesterday at the Philadelphia Country Club.

The momentum of a stellar summer of golf carried Woodland into yesterday’s round, where 312 golfers tried to advance to the tournament’s match play competition. After two rounds of stroke play, the top 64 players from that competition will advance.

Woodland teed off at 9:05 a.m. and finished his first stroke play round about 2 p.m. Woodland played the front nine with a one under par 34, including an eagle on the par four ninth hole.

Woodland went on to bogey holes seven and 17 to drop him to even par for the day. But even par placed him in the top 50 when the day ended.

“I didn’t hit the ball well on the first nine,” he said. “Not to mention I missed some putts that were definitely makeable, but I hit the ball better on the front. I had a bunch of pars to start, but that eagle was huge.”

Woodland said he was still confident he would bounce back and perform better than he had, though he felt he could have finished better.

“I felt good enough that if I didn’t play well, I could come around and find a way to stay in contention and wait for a good break to happen,” Woodland said. “Finally, I had a good break on the last hole and I hope that carries over. If I’m not playing well, then I have to hold on to stay among the field.”

Although he had Saturday and Sunday to experience the course, Woodland said his opening round conditions were a bit different than what he had experienced while playing over the weekend.

“I played at 7 a.m. on Sunday and the greens were a lot slower,” Woodland said. “Teeing off earlier allowed me to get used to slower greens, whereas today I came around the turn and had to adjust my game to fit the harder course conditions. Not to mention the wind blew a little bit harder today.”

With one round under his belt and a strong understanding of how the course plays, Woodland looks to continue and advance in the tournament.

Woodland will tee off today at 2:20.