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Sandy • Sitting at No. 25 on the Nationwide Tour's money list — the final spot to automatically earn a PGA Tour card — Texan J.J. Killeen needs as many paychecks as he can muster.
Killeen has had a few good moments on tour the last few years, but has finished on the outside looking in at a top-25 finish.
Should the Forth Worth resident continue to play the next three days as he did during the opening round of the Utah Championship, that $99,000 winner's check will make a top-25 finish a tad easier. He converted at least a half-dozen putts of seven feet or less en rout to a 9-under-par round of 62 at Willow Creek Country Club.
Killeen was lasered in Thursday morning. Then, when faced with a lengthy putt to finish the round, he eased home a 20-foot birdie putt that began leaking just a tad before falling to take a two-stroke lead. The 30-year-old TCU graduate finished with 10 birdies and one bogey.
"It was a good finish," said Killeen, whose previous best Nationwide event was a second place in 2009. He lost that in a playoff after leading the first three rounds.
Killeen had played in three previous Utah Championships, and missed the cut each time.
"I've had a couple of chances to do really well," he said. "But I have been inconsistent. I've just been waiting for a week for it to come all together. I have been making a lot of cuts out here, and just making the cut means you have a chance on the weekend. I have had a couple of top-fives. I am playing solid."
Joel Edwards of Dallas, playing on an exemption, and Australian Scott Gardiner are tied for second at 7 under par. Like Killeen, they played the morning round. The course conditions became tougher in the afternoon as temperatures increased.
James Hahn is fourth at 6 under par, followed by a group of seven players at 5 under.
In the afternoon group, Camilo Benedetti of Medellin, Colombia, looked to make a charge toward the top. He was 7 under par after 11 holes with a potential birdie looming on the par-5 12th hole. Benedetti bogeyed 12 and 13 to drop back into the pack.
"I played really, really well," said Edwards, who turns 50 this season and will be part of the Champions Tour in 2012. "I want to play as good as I possibly can and compete. I look at it differently than most people. I'm not exempt [on the Champions Tour]. I have to play as good as I can, and when I get my shot next year we'll see."
Lehi's Tony Finau was as low as 2 under par, but finished even. Of the Utahns who had finished the first day, Provo's Chris Moody had the best of it with a 2-under round. Nick Killpack of St. George finished even par. Luke Swilor of West Jordan was 1 over, while Bountiful's Pete Stone and Draper's Matt Baird were 4-over par.
Thursday's highlights
R Seven golfers fire bogey-free rounds, though Thursday's leader, J.J. Killeen, is not among the group.
• Jason Kokrak records two of the 10 eagles Thursday, becoming the 22nd player this year to record that feat.
• Killeen needs just 27 putts to post his leading first-round score of 9-under-par 62. —
Leaderboard
Utah Championship
J.J. Killeen -9
Joel Edwards -7
Scott Gardiner -7
James Hahn -6 —
Utah Championship
P At Willow Creek Country Club, Sandy
Purse • $550,000. Admission • $10-$100
Tee times • Friday: 7:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 9 a.m.
TV • Friday, 4:30 p.m., TGC —
Photo gallery
O For more photos of the Utah Championship, visit