Alex Smalley shot 3-under-par 67 Thursday at Royal Birkdale to earn a place near the top of the leaderboard at the British Open.
The Jamestown golfer made seven birdies — he birdied four of the first four holes — and would have joined Jackson Suber as a co-leader if he had parred 18, rather than suffered a double-bogey on the final hole.
The other six players at 3-under included Wake Forest graduate Cameron Young and 2024 U.S. Open champion Brandon DeChambeau. Former UNC golfer Ben Griffin shot 69. Raleigh native Akshay Bhatia and J.T. Poston of Hickory fired 71 and are inside the cut line.
