Mont Dora's Jon Veneziano leads at Sara Bay

Only three players broke par in the first round of the 34th annual Florida State Golf Association's Mid-Amateur Championship on Thursday at Sara Bay Country Club.

The famed Donald Ross-designed course showed its teeth for the 84-player field, which yielded a 79.313 scoring average.

Topping the leaderboard is Mount Dora's Jon Veneziano, who blitzed Sara Bay for seven birdies en route to a 3-under par 69.

He holds a one-shot lead over Tallahassee's Robert Bechtol, while Lake Worth's Edward Kenny (71) produced the only other sub-par round Thursday.

The Concession Golf Club's membership director, Alan Pope, had the best round for Manatee County participants. Pope posted a 77, while Bradenton's Timothy Roberts and Matt Wells carded 78s.

They are all in the top 30. The top 32 scores and ties following Friday morning's second round will advance to the match play portion that starts Friday afternoon.

Spectators are welcomed to attend at no charge.

The tournament features male amateur golfers that are 25 years old or older.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 12:31 AM with the headline "Mont Dora's Jon Veneziano leads at Sara Bay ."