Ethan Farnam had one eagle and seven birdies Thursday on his way to a 9-under round of 62 to hold a one-shot lead after the first round of the Inspirato Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch, recording the sixth-lowest round in tournament history.

Farnam, who finished in a tie for 26th at last year’s Colorado Open and is a two-time Illinois Amateur champion, started off hot with four birdies on the front side. He got even better on the back with an eagle and three more birdies.

He is from Crystal Lake, Ill. and played one season at Northwestern before playing his last three years at St. Mary’s College. As a senior in 2021, he had three top 10 finishes.

The leaderboard is full of low scores as Joey Garber shot 63 to be one shot back and Carson Lundell is two shots back after his 64. Several players are tied with 65s.

Defending champion Jim Knous withdrew from the tournament because of back problems after eight holes on Thursday. Knous won last year’s tournament with a hole-out eagle on the fourth playoff hole to secure the first win in his home-state tournament.

The Aspen native played in the Korn Ferry Tour event two weeks ago at TPC Colorado on exemption, where he missed the cut.

On of the best scores from a golfer with Colorado ties came from amateur Elijah Knudsen. He fired a 4-under 67 to sit in the top 10 after day one.

His journey to golf actually started on the basketball court. Knudsen was the Class 4A CHSAA Player of the Year and led Mead High School to a state basketball title in 2021. Then he went on to play at Colorado Mesa but decided to switch sports after three seasons.

He was part of the Colorado State golf team this past spring and played in the Mountain West Conference championship, where he shot 1 over as the Rams finished in eighth place.

“I still have more faith over a free throw than a 6-foot putt, but it’s getting close to even now,” Knudsen told 9News in May. “It’s taken some time. Basketball I was never nervous. State championship game, first college game. No nerves. The first tee box on a golf course is just the most nerve-racking thing I’ve done in my life.”

Englewood’s Tristin Goodwin also shot 4 under.

There is a big group of local golfers at 3 under after day one including Lakewood’s Geoff Keffer, Cherry Hills amateur Brady Duval, who is the son of British Open champ David Duval, and newly turned pro and former CU Buffs star Hunter Swanson.

The Inspirato Colorado Open has a purse of $200,000 with the winner’s share being $50,000. The second round begins at 7 a.m. Friday.