Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Cody Jaeschke rolls in a putt on Friday at the Fort Dodge Country Club. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Youth was served here on Friday during the opening round of the Fort Dodge Amateur golf tournament.

Six competitors navigated gusty winds and quickly-rising temperatures to shoot under par in the 77th annual event’s new Open Division for players under 23 years of age.

Owen Sawyer of Cedar Falls and Pella’s Will Simpson both carded five-under par 66s to tame the Fort Dodge Country Club on day one of the three-round event.

Sawyer recently completed his sophomore year as a member of the Iowa State University golf squad. Simpson is a senior-to-be at SIU-Edwardsville.

Three-time FD Am champion Andrew Huseman is tied for the regular Open Division lead at one-under par 70. Ryan Horner of Clive joined Huseman at the top as the only two contenders in the bracket to post a red number.

Bret Taylor of Booneville fired a two-under 69 for a one-shot advantage over Storm Lake’s Steve Eddie in the Senior Division. Defending Super Senior gold medalist Dave Gaer of Des Moines (72) is back on top early in that race, while the Fort Dodge trio of Terry Miller (74), Dave Hanson (77) and Dave Sergeant (78) anchor the Legends Division leaderboard.

Sawyer and Simpson both recorded six birdies and one bogey on Friday. Sawyer had birdies at 7, 9, 10, 12, 15 and 18 with a bogey at 5; Simpson tallied birdies on 2, 3, 7, 11, 13 and 15, with his lone bogey coming at 17.

Preston Bily of Indianola — like Simpson, currently a member of the SIU-Edwardsville men’s program — is one stroke back after a four-under 67. Bily birdied holes 4, 6, 8, 14, 15 and 18, with bogeys at 12 and 13.

Three other Div. I golfers also landed in the red, with Drake’s Jake Weissenburger (69), Iowa’s Maxwell Tjoa (69) and Northern Iowa’s Nile Petersen (70) lurking in immediate contention.

Tanner Dinnebier of Northern Iowa is at even-par 71, and Zach May — the 2023 Open Division titleist — is in a group at 72.

Huseman birdied holes 2, 4, 7, 8 and 15, with bogeys at 3, 5, 10 and 12. Horner registered four birdies (1, 2, 15 and 17) and three bogeys (5, 10 and 18).

Players dealt with breezy winds pushing 30-plus miles per hour all day, but the morning round saw mild temperatures compared to the heat that hit after noontime. On Saturday, temps are anticipated to be in the mid-80s by 9 a.m., with the highs clearing 95 in the mid-afternoon hours.

Wind will continue to be a factor at a sustained 20-25 mile-per-hour rate with higher gusts.

Moving day will pare down the field for Sunday’s championship cut in the five brackets.