WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - If you came out to see the local kid play in the Greenbrier Classic on Thursday, you got to see the best round of the day as a bonus.
No, that round didn't come from Charleston native Christian Brand. Instead it came from playing partner Sebastian Munoz, who fired a 9-under-par 61 late in the afternoon to steal the thunder away from Davis Love III, who'd led nearly all day after posting a 7-under 63 in the morning.
Munoz needed just 26 putts in snatching the lead heading into the second round, with 11 one-putts among them.
Brand meanwhile, wasn't so good on the green, needing 32 putts to card his 2-over par 72 and had only five one-putts.
"It was a struggle," Brand said after his round. "It was a little bit embarrassing on the greens to be completely honest. I'm a better putter than that."
But it wasn't all bad by any means for the former Capital and Marshall standout, who ground out birdies on both par-5 holes (12 and 17) and is well within range of the projected cut line, which stands at 1 under par as of now and could possibly slip down to 2 under by the end of Friday.
It will take a low number, but Brand feels he's well capable of it and certainly struck the ball well enough on Thursday.
"I think tee to green was great today," Brand said. "Man, if we hit it like we did today tomorrow - and we make a couple of putts - we'll get more of those [hole No.] 17 ovations.
"I saw a 61 in the afternoon, so it's out there. The course is playing phenomenal, I haven't heard one bad remark about the changes or the way the course is playing. We look forward to shooting something in the low 60s and getting some of these West Virginia fans that may have had too much - get them hooting and hollering a little bit."
Brand was referencing a nice reception after he buried his birdie putt on No. 17. He had a nice following throughout the round and with possible good scoring conditions for the morning rounds on Friday, he could put more of a charge into those fans.
But more than being flashy, it may come to being solid - as in avoiding short three-putts like the one he suffered on 16 on Thursday. There was also a misplayed pitch on No. 11 that eventually led to bogey, too.
Either way, the greens should be more receptive and true in the morning, something Brand said he looks forward to.
"They found scientific proof that the greens don't roll as good in the afternoon. I mean, I'm not breaking new ground there am I?" he said with a hint of sarcasm. "I had a putt on 16 that hit something and it went dead right, and there's nothing you can do. You can't see that imperfection and you can't fix it either. We look for fresher greens tomorrow and a whole lot more birdies."
Brand, Munoz and Sam Saunders (also 2 over) will tee off at 7:10 a.m. Friday, with Brand trying to make the weekend. He's certainly in a better position to do that than he was in 2011 after carding a first-round 78 in his only other Greenbrier Classic appearance.
Since that time, Brand has started in 15 Web.com Tour events, including five this year, and he's competed on other big-time stages.
"I was kind of expecting to be more nervous on the first tee, to be honest," Brand said. "I'm definitely more prepared and I just kept kind of telling myself, 'This is just like another golf tournament.' The only difference is, I'm at home and there's a few thousand more people.''
As good as Munoz was on Thursday, including two stretches of four straight birdies, it wasn't anything Brand wasn't prepared to see.
"When you play pro golf, you get to see that a lot," Brand said. "He hit it good today and I'll tell you what he did, he made those putts I didn't make. He's a wonderful guy."
Whether Brand will need to shoot 67, 66 or something similar Friday will be determined throughout the day, as will his ability to reach it. But Brand said after seeing Munoz's exploits, he now has a much lower goal in mind for Friday.
"Fifty-nine," Brand said.
And that would certainly garner some hoots and hollers.
Contact Ryan Pritt at 304-348-7948 or ryan.pritt@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @rpritt.