Southport, NC – Jeremy Pope of Pawleys Island, SC had a bit of an advantage in Wednesday's opening round of the eGolf Professional Tour's inaugural Championship at St. James Plantation. Splitting practice time between South Florida and Pawleys Island has left numerous hours spent learning how to play in the wind. While certainly not British Open-like conditions, a stiff breeze for the majority of the day left scores on the Founders and Reserve Club courses at St. James with a lot to be desired. That is except for Pope, who managed a 6-under 66 at the Founders Club to grab the first-round lead with 54 holes still to play.

The tournament is the first in eGolf Tour history to be contested along the North Carolina coastline. With both the Founders and Reserve courses at St. James Plantation serving as hosts over the first 36 holes, players will play one round at each before the field is cut for the final 36 holes, which will be contested solely at the Founders Club

Pope began his opening round of the 72-hole event on the 10th hole at the P.B. Dye-designed Founders Club course. A benign par to start at No. 10 gave way to a birdie at No. 11 that would set the tone for the day's best round.

"I laid up with a 7-iron on the par-5 11th and then wedged on to 3 feet," said Pope. "When I made that for birdie, it kind of got the round going."

After a "chunked chip" led to a bogey at the par-4 15th, Pope caught a lucky break on the scenic par-4 17th.

"Number 17 helped a lot after a hot 7-iron hit firm and was racing over the green before it hit the pin and wound up 4 feet away," said Pope, referencing the approach that otherwise would have left a tough up-and-down. "That was definitely a good break."

Tim CantwellA follow-up birdie at No. 18 allowed the 37-year-old Pope to turn at 3-under 33. Pars on Nos. 1-3 were followed by a birdie-bogey stretch on Nos. 4-5 that brought Pope to the short, drivable par-4 sixth, which was playing straight into a stiff 20 mph wind.

"I just stood on the tee and ripped driver to 25 feet and was fortunate to make a 25 footer for eagle. That was a big swing," Pope said after his round.

The surprise eagle took him to 5-under on his round, and closing birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 would offset a bogey at the par-4 seventh to give him a round of 66 and the day one lead.

Pope is making only his second start of the 2010 season following a missed cut at the tour's Cabarrus Classic just a few weeks ago. After spending the majority of the offseason working on his game, it seems that improvements are finally beginning to show on the course as opposed to the range.

"I've been working on a lot of stuff, and it's finally paying off for me," Pope said. "I haven't been playing good over the past few months, but it felt good out there today."

Steady winds throughout the day on Wednesday sent scoring averages through the roof and left many players wondering what happened to their once-reliable swings. Pope, who lives an hour and a half down Hwy. 17 on Pawleys Island, has plenty of experience in the wind and wasn't fazed by what many players felt were difficult conditions.

"I think playing down in Florida and at home on Pawleys Island certainly helps in windy conditions," he said. "You just get used to it and adapt."

With forecasters calling for 20-30 mph winds for Thursday's second round, the onus will be on each player to find a way to manage in the arduous-yet-expected atmosphere of coastal golf, where Mother Nature if often the one in charge.

"We'll just go out there and try to play to position A and position B," said Pope. "Hopefully I'll just go through my round and try to pick my spots and not push too hard."

Longtime tour player Tim Cantwell of Palm Beach Gardens, FL is alone in second place after posting a 5-under 67 in the afternoon round at the Founders Club. Cantwell, who originally hails from Milwaukee, is making his first start of the 2010 season on the eGolf Tour.

Jason KokrakCantwell utilized four birdies, one bogey and an eagle at the par-5 fourth en route to his lowest round on the eGolf Tour since a second-round 67 at the Spring Creek Championship last June.

Alone in third place is current eGolf Tour money leader Jason Kokrak of Warren, OH. Kokrak posted a rather up-and-down 4-under 68 at the Founders Club on Wednesday. Beginning his round on the par-4 10th, Kokrak recorded two eagles, five birdies, six pars and five bogeys on his way to one of the more bizarre scorecards of the day.

While two eagles in one round in not an overly unique feat, two eagles on par-4s is. Kokrak recorded eagles at the 396-yard par-4 first and the 440-yard par-4 17th.

Kokrak, a former standout at Xavier University, is three weeks removed from his first eGolf Tour title at the Cabarrus Classic in March. The win came complete with a winner's check of $34,726. In just three starts thus far in 2010, he has amassed earnings of $44,374.

Four players shared the low round of the day at the Reserve Club at St. James Plantation. Matthew Kohn, Cameron Yancey, Matt Vick and Frank Wrenn each finished with rounds of 2-under 70 to set the pace at the stunning Nicklaus Design course.

Yancey, a former PGA TOUR player, began his round on No. 10 with 12 consecutive pars before ending the streak with a bogey at the par-4 fourth. Fortunately, the former UVA star birdied Nos. 7, 8 and 9 to get back into the red on his round and into the top 10. All four players finished the first round in a seven-way tie for ninth.

The second round of the Championship at St. James Plantation will begin at 8:00 AM at both the Founders and Reserve courses. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.

• The shot of the day came from eGolf Tour rookie James Sacheck of Fort Worth, TX. Playing the Reserve Club in round one, Sacheck recorded a hole-in-one on the 171-yard par-3 16th using a 5-iron. It was the fourth hole-in-one of his career. Sacheck carded a 3-over 75 in the opening round.