Palm Desert, CA – Through 18 holes of eGolf Tour West’s inaugural Avondale Open, three players sit tied for the lead at 3-under par, including tour stalwarts Christopher Cunningham of San Diego, CA and Cameron Rappleye of Elk Grove, CA, as well as newcomer Andrew Yun of Chandler, AZ, who is just one year removed from wrapping up one of the top college careers in Stanford University history.

Cunningham, 26, opened his week at host Avondale Golf Club in perfect fashion, recording four birdies in his first 13 holes to reach 4-under par for the tournament. The former University of San Francisco golfer bogeyed the par-4 17th to drop back down to minus-3, but rallied late, closing with a birdie on the par-5 18th to round out his opening 67.

The native San Diegan opened his 2014 campaign on eGolf West with a runner-up at the Golf Club of California Classic in January, and has since posted two additional top-15s, including a T8 at the Championship at PGA West just two weeks ago.

For Yun, Wednesday was rather vanilla through four holes before a closing-front-nine stretch of birdie-birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie left him with a 3-under 33 on his outward nine. The former Stanford Cardinal star recorded eight pars and a birdie at the par-3 15th on his back nine to finish off a 1-under 34, good for his first-round 67.

Yun, making his eGolf Tour West debut this week, was one of the top players in the famed annals of Stanford golf from 2009 through 2013, posting two wins and a career scoring average of 71.5 – third lowest in school history behind only Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers. The two-time U.S. Palmer Cup team member was an “All-American” in three of his four years in Palo Alto, including first-team honors in 2011.

Rappleye’s opening-round 67 came as little surprise on what has been arguably one of the more consistent eGolf West resumes this spring. The 24-year-old has made five-of-five cuts this season, notching top-20s each week and an impressive three top-10s. The Wednesday 67 marked the third time in his last five starts that he opened a tournament with a round of 67 or better.

Four players sit tied for fourth with rounds of 3-under 68, including longtime PGA TOUR player Craig Barlow and former UCLA star Gregor Main.

Second-round play in the Avondale Open will begin at 7:00 AM on Thursday morning. Following the completion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 35 percent and ties for Friday’s final round. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.