GREENSBORO, N.C. – With the first of two rounds of stroke play in the books, Kyle Souza is in the thick of those in contention for one of the 64 match play spots up for grabs in the 85th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. The Chico State junior fired a 3-over par 74 Monday to earn a share of 67th place at the tournament, being held on the Champions Course at Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C.

Starting on the back nine, Souza enjoyed a strong start to his opening round, bookending a birdie on his second hole with a pair of pars to briefly rank on the leaderboard’s top 10. The Livermore native then ran into a rough patch, with bogeys on three of his next four holes, and reached the round’s midway point at 2-over 38.

Back-to-back bogeys out of the clubhouse turn ballooned Souza’s score to 4-over par through 11, but he played virtually error-free on the last seven holes, posting six pars and draining a birdie on the par-3, 206-yard third hole. Souza’s total of 3-over 74 for the round left him in a 12-way tie for 67th place, nine shots back of Derek Ernst of Clovis, Calif. The UNLV golfer carded a 6-under par 65 to take a one shot lead into the second and final round of stroke play.

Click here for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship's first round results.

The top 64 golfers following Tuesday’s round will advance to the first 18 holes of match play Wednesday. That format will ultimately determine the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship winner Saturday, who with the title earns an amateur spot in the 2011 Masters.