July 14, 2008

AURORA, Colo. - San Diego State alumnus Aaron Goldberg (Encinitas, Calif.) fired a 6-under-par 65 on Monday to grab a one-shot lead after the first round of stroke play at the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in Aurora, Colo.

Goldberg drained eight birdies on the day, including six after the turn to vault past Zachary Zaremba (Pueblo West, Colo./Wyoming) and Travis Reid (Clovis, N.M./New Mexico), who each carded a 5-under 66 at the 7,551-yard, par-71 Murphy Creek Golf Course.

Goldberg, who captured Mountain West Conference Golfer of the Year honors as a senior during the 2007-08 campaign, became the Aztecs' first two-time All-American since 1984 after earning a spot on the PING third-team squad this past season.

The second round of stroke play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship gets underway on Tuesday, with the top 64 finishers advancing to four days of elimination match play. A 36-hole championship match caps off the tournament on Saturday, July 19, with the winner receiving an exemption to the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga.

The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship is open to male amateur golfers who, since Jan. 1 of the calendar year, have been public course players and have not held privileges at any course that does not extend playing privileges to the general public. Previous champions of the men's amateur public links include current PGA players Trevor Immelman (1998), Tim Clark (1997) and Billy Mayfair (1986).

For more information on the U.S. Amateur Public Links, please visit www.usapl.org.