Greensboro, NC – Michael Shrader of Midlothian, VA entered Wednesday’s opening round of the inaugural Sedgefield Classic with little fanfare on his professional resume. But a spike of recent good play added to a hint of confidence, giving way to a 4-under 66 that pushed him up to the top of the day’s early leaderboard, and kept him there throughout – leading to a one-shot lead through 18 holes of the 54-hole event.

The Sedgefield Classic is the 11th of 24 scheduled events on the 2013 eGolf Tour schedule, and is being contested this week at Sedgefield Country Club – Dye Course in Greensboro, NC.

Shrader’s day began in ominous fashion, as a double-bogey at the par-4 first put him quickly behind the proverbial 8-ball on a golf course that rarely gives you another chance to run the table.

“I hit a loose tee shot on No. 1, and it was the type of thing where, on that golf course, you know you’re going to make some mistakes so you have to get past it pretty quickly,” said Shrader, 24.

A solid par on the par-3 second helped steady Shrader’s day one ship, but it was back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 that brought him back to even par – golf’s version of a stable start through four holes.

“That was a goal of mine after the mistake on No. 1 and the solid par on No. 2, I wanted to get those shots back quickly on the next few holes, and try to get back into attack mode,” Shrader said. “That can be tricky on a course like that though.”

The Dye Course at Sedgefield Country Club, formerly known as Cardinal Golf and Country Club, has long been one of Pete Dye’s marquee designs, testing the country’s top amateurs annually in the prestigious Cardinal Amateur. To say the course can present itself as a cruel mistress might represent the understatement of the 2013 season.

Shrader’s fast recovery gave way to a bogey at the par-4 ninth, which left him at 1-over 36 through Wednesday’s halfway point.

On the closing nine, however, the former University of Richmond golfer came to life, setting fire to one of Dye’s more arduous nine-hole stretches.

“I got through the tough stretch early on the back nine, then played well down the home stretch,” said Shrader, who birdied the downhill par-4 11th to move back to even par.

Vaita Guillaume

Shrader’s birdie led to pars on 12, 13 and 14, which then brought the Richmond native to the par-5 15th, where a stellar second shot set up an eagle that vaulted him to 2-under par.

“My eagle putt on 15 just dropped over the front edge of the cup, so that was a bonus,” he said. “That helped to set up the finish.”

A birdie at the par-3 16th took Shrader to 3-under par for the round, but it was a closing birdie at the last that iced his 4-under effort on day one.

“I hit a good wedge into 18 to make one more birdie – hit it close and converted from there,” he said. “You’ll always take birdie on that hole, so it was a good way to finish. I hit it very well on the back, and hit a number of shots close to set up some easy birdies.”

The 4-under 66 was Shrader’s second-lowest career round on the eGolf Tour (to par), dating back to a first-round 67 (5-under) at the Spring Creek Classic in September of 2011 – his first official round on tour.

Shrader’s 2013 campaign has had it’s share of ups and downs, after a made cut at the Oldfield Open in February (his first start of the year) evolved into four consecutive missed cuts – a streak which ended with a T46 finish at the Palisades Classic two weeks ago.

“I’ve been working pretty hard on some things. I putted really well at Palisades, but had a few unforced errors that hurt,” said Shrader, who posted a season-best T31 at last week’s Willow Creek Open. “I didn’t putt as well last week, but I hit it well, so I had some positive vibes heading into this week.”

A two-time Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar as a key member of the Spider golf team, Shrader realizes he has his work cut out for him going forward this week.

“I’d played this course once in the past coming into this event, but it really demands your attention,” said Shrader, who acknowledged the 36 remaining holes when refusing to prognosticate. “I’m really just trying to stay confident and keep it going this week.”

Vaita Guillaume of Tahiti, David Sanchez of Huntersville, NC, Christian Brand of South Charleston, WV, Mitch Krywulycz of Australia, Adam Long of Lake St. Louis, MO and Brian Friederichs of Boca Raton, FL are tied for second, one shot back of Shrader after matching rounds of 3-under 67.

Guillaume and Long posted the day’s only two bogey-free rounds, with both recording three birdies and 15 pars en route to their 3-under tallies.

A former Campbell University standout, Guillaume did his damage while playing in the day’s opening twosome at 7:40 AM. After starting his round at the par-4 10th, Guillaume quickly reached 2-under par with birdies at Nos. 12 and 15 that soon led to a 2-under 33 on his outward nine.

Coming home, the French-born golfer kept his round solid, posting a birdie at the par-4 fifth to round out his bogey-free day, good for a 3-under 67.

The 24-year-old Guillaume has had an up-and-down sophomore season on the eGolf Tour, making six of nine cuts, but notching just one top-15 finish – a T14 at the Palisades Classic.

Adam Long

Long, a former Duke University star and Web.com Tour member, birdied the par-4 second, then recorded 10 consecutive pars before reaching 3-under with back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14. The birdie at the par-4 14th would be his last, as Long closed with four consecutive pars to earn his day one 67.

Competing just one hour from his Blue Devil home, the round was a nice change of pace for Long, who entered the final round of last week’s Willow Creek Open at 7-under par, but closed with a 4-over 76 to finish T31.

Long spent all of 2012 on the Web.com Tour, posting six made cuts in 17 starts – including a season-best T9 finish at WNB Golf Classic, one of two top-25s on the year.

Since joining the eGolf Tour fresh out of school in 2010, Long has recorded three top-10 finishes, with a T3 at last year’s Pine Needles Classic serving as his best.

Second-round play in the Sedgefield Classic will begin at 7:40 AM on Thursday morning. Following the completion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 35 percent and ties for the final round of play. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.