Last modified: Friday, August 15, 2008 1:06 AM EDT Defending champion Billy White chips up to the green at Wentworth Hills County Club on Thursday.(Staff photo by Martin Gavin) Riley gets early jump BY PETER GOBIS SUN CHRONICLE STAFF PLAINVILLE - It was a simple, often-told philosophy that many a golfer shared when teeing off for the first round of the 48th annual Attleboro Area Golf Association's Open Thursday at the Wentworth Hills Country Club. Keep the ball in play off the tee and put the ball onto the green. In doing so, a fleet of 40 players assembled for the start of the four-day sweepstakes are within 11 shots of each other. In doing so, 18 players among the field of 104 - which started play in dampness and fog and ended in showers - shot rounds of 75 or better. And in doing so, a dozen players are within merely seven shots of each other heading into today's second round of competition at the Highland Country Club in Attleboro. Ryan Riley, the 2005 AAGA Open champion who has been among the top three in the past two Opens, produced a dazzling 4-under-par round of 67, with 12 pars, five birdies and one bogey. That sub-par slate left Riley with a three-shot lead over former Attleboro High and Bryant University standout Ray (Issler) Lyons and Sacred Heart University senior, via the Foxborough CC, Mark Metcalf - both of whom came in with 1-under-par rounds of 70. "I just tried to put the ball in play, hit the greens and give myself chances," said Riley, who has a four-stroke lead over 22-year-old Attleboro High and URI product Matt McCarthy (even par 71) and a five-shot advantage over two AAGA Open veterans - Derek Johnson (14 pars, two birdies) and Billy Vine (12 pars, three birdies) - both of whom came in a 1-over-par 72. And right behind is Wentworth Institute professor Anthony Duva (73 with 14 pars, one birdie). "This is a very, very good field of players in this tournament," added Riley of the wealth and depth of talent assembled. "I play a lot of (MGA and New England) tournaments and I get more nervous for this one." With narrow fairways and soft greens that did not create suspecting curves, the course proved to be both a trick and a treat. "You have to keep the ball in front of you, you can't get ahead of yourself," commented AAGA Tournament Committee member, the Bishop Feehan and Rutgers University-trained Mike Michel (74 with 13 pars) of the 6,202-yard Wentworth layout. "Every hole is protected with hazards." "The course played fair," said Foxboro High grad and Coastal Carolina senior Greg Brastow (75 with three double bogeys). "It was take what you can get. On short courses, you don't have to be aggressive - just put the ball in spots and make the putts." Riley did that. Starting on the backside, he was 1-under par with six pars and birdies at the 378-yard No. 10 hole and 505-yard, par-5 No. 14 hole. Then turning to the frontside, Riley was near-perfect with six pars and three birdies - on the par-5 No. 3 hole, the par-4 No. 5 hole and the par-3 No. 7 hole. "They moved a couple of the tees up on the hard holes and the put the pins in different spots than in past years," said Riley of the competitive course. Riley was so good off the tee and in the fairways that he hit 16 greens in regulation - having eagle putts on the No. 3 and No. 14 holes. "The grass, the greens were very receptive," added Riley. "If you hit the ball straight, you gave yourself opportunity to score well." The 21-year-old Metcalf, a Walpole High grad, was 5-under-par at 30 on the backside to finish at sub-par 70. The 33-year-old Lyons, a 1993 AHS graduate, played the backside at 1-under-par 34 to also finish at one-under. "On the frontside I couldn't make a putt," said Metcalf, who had five pars and four bogeys. "I made them on the backside, although the greens are a lot slower than what I'm used to." He birdied the 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th holes. "I knew where to put the ball." Lyons, a No. 3 finisher in his last AAGA Open back in 1996, played "a boring round" with 11 pars and pairs of birdies on both the front and back sides. "When I started (at No. 1 at 7 a.m) it was so foggy that you couldn't see the greens on the par-5 holes. The only two greens that I didn't hit, I made bogeys on." McCarthy, a Locust Valley member playing in just his second AAGA Open, knocked down a birdie putt (at No. 10) on the very first hole that he played - and didn't have another. But the weekend player with his clubs and emotional baggage ("I felt the pressure of playing in a tournament") being carried by his girlfriend, Margie Harrington, didn't make many mistakes. And he spanked a 4-iron shot to within 10 yards of the 268-yard, par-4 No. 4 hole, chipping in for an eagle. "On this course, you can shoot really well," added Duva, scanning the scoreboard, the top 10 being very crowded by contenders. "Or you can spray the ball and put up a big number - you can't miss."