CM Mixon couldn’t help but feel like he left a couple strokes out on the course at Bowling Green Country Club on Friday.

The South Warren senior had just surged to a 1-under par 71 during the KHSAA Boys’ State Golf Tournament’s opening round to grab a share of third place in the individual standings, and still wasn’t truly satisfied with his day’s work. The object of Mixon’s ire: a double-bogey on the par-4 No. 10 hole at BGCC, his very first hole of the tournament.

“That’s what got me,” Mixon said. “If I take away that hole, I’m sitting at 3-under or 4-under and one shot off the lead. I was protecting one-way miss and basically I just came around it too much. I hit it really good, too, it was just too far. It was just a lapse in the swing, but I bounced back into it quick and just tried to keep it going for the rest of the round.”

After Friday’s opening round, Mixon trails leader Drew Doyle of Louisville St. Xavier (4-under 68) by three strokes and remains in strong position to contend for an individual state championship.

“Basically one swing cost him two strokes, but he’s still right in the thick of it,” South Warren coach Lane Embry said of Mixon. “I think he’s right where he needs to be going into tomorrow.”

Bowling Green junior Collier Curd also withstood the challenging conditions at BGCC – a gusty wind combined with the traditional narrow fairways and imposing rough to make high scores the norm. Curd battled through for an even-par 72, good for a share of sixth place and only four strokes off the lead.

Just like Mixon, Curd got off to a less-than-ideal start when he too double bogeyed on the No. 10 hole. In Curd’s case, an errant tee shot found a tree.

“He pulled it a bit left and hit a tree, but if there’s a kid that that’s going to happen to, you want it to be him because he’s played a lot of golf and he handled it really well,” Bowling Green coach Adam Whitt said of Curd. “He headed back to even at the turn and played just really solid golf. He hit a couple loose shots coming in, but I think he would have taken even (par) before the day started, so I’m pleased with him.”

Curd said the early mishap might have helped him settle in for the rest of the day.

“It kind of hurt my confidence in the beginning, but with the help of my coach and me just wanting to do better for me team, I think that kind of pushed me through it,” Curd said. “It made me play more defensively and take opportunities and capitalize on them when I needed to.”

Bowling Green fell short of advancing in the team standings, missing the cut by two strokes with a combined 39-over 327. South Warren didn’t advance either, finishing with a combined 40-over 328.

It was a particularly disappointing end for the Purples, who had hoped for a stronger showing in their hometown.

“It’s the biggest number of the year for us,” Whitt said. “You wish we would’ve played better, but we didn’t. It’s tough out here. They get to play out here quite a bit, but unfortunately we haven’t tackled this thing yet. We don’t play well out here for whatever reason and I haven’t quite figured it out yet.

“You’ve got to hit fairways out here. We didn’t hit many fairways at the start and when you don’t hit fairways and the ball sits down in thick Bermuda rough, then you’re hacking out of it.”

Louisville St. Xavier held the team lead after Day 1 with a 3-over 291 leading Taylor County (294) by three strokes.

St. Xavier’s Drew Doyle forged a two-stroke overall lead with a 4-under 68, with Louisville Trinity’s John Marshall Butler in second at 70 followed by a three-way tie for third that includes Mixon.

Allen County-Scottsville junior Owen Stamper (T36th, 5-over 77) and Franklin-Simpson sophomore Dalton Fiveash (T45th, 6-over 78) joined Mixon and Curd in making the cut in the individual standings to earn a spot in Saturday’s final round.

Team standings

1. Louisville St. Xavier +3 291

2. Taylor County +6 294

T3. Louisville Ballard +12 300

T3. Madison Central +12 300

5. Lexington Christian Academy +14 302

Bowling Green +39 327

South Warren +40 328

Individual

1. Drew Doyle (Louisville St. Xavier) -4 68

2. John Marshall Butler (Louisville Trinity) -2 70

T3. Luke Coyle (Taylor County) -1 71

T3. Brody Webb (Scott County) -1 71

T3. CM Mixon (South Warren) -1 71

T6. Collier Curd (Bowling Green) Even 72

T36. Owen Stamper (Allen County-Scottsville) +5 77

T45. Dalton Fiveash (Franklin-Simpson) +6 78

DNF

Clark McDougal (Bowling Green) +8 80

Chase Wilson (Franklin-Simpson) +9 81

Chase Hodges (South Warren) +10 82

Tyler Earnhart (South Warren) +11 83

Blake Stewart (Bowling Green) +15 87

Tristen Carter (Bowling Green) +16 88

Charlie Reber (Bowling Green) +17 89

Tyler Hudson (South Warren) +20 92

Clayton Daniels (South Warren) +29 101