SOUTH HADLEY — There’s nothing quite like competing at home, regardless of the sport.

And Cody Miller couldn’t have felt more comfortable during the first round of the 43rd Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Golf Championship at Ledges Golf Club on Tuesday.

The Ledges member carded the day’s second-lowest score with a 5-under 67, taking advantage of being the only participant in the field playing at his home course. Miller approached hole No. 9 (his 18th of the day, as he started on the back nine) at 6-under, and had yet to pencil in a bogey on his scorecard.

And although he finished with a bogey six on the par-5 ninth, he was still thrilled to be well within striking distance of the top spot with one more day of competition remaining.

As every golfer knows, scoring low relies heavily on the putter – and whether or not putts are falling. Well, Miller’s putter was on fire during Round 1.

“I had the flat stick rolling all day,” he said. “I made really everything I looked at all day. I didn’t hit the driver too well, but around here, short game is what matters – wedges and your putter. I didn’t lose a ball. So no lost balls, and the three-putt bogey on the last hole was my only bogey.”

It’s safe to say Miller certainly had the home course advantage over his peers, especially being the only competitor representing Ledges. Others may have played the course during practice rounds or at other points, but nobody knows the ins-and-outs of the par-72 track like Miller.

He finds himself three shots off the lead (8-under), and ahead of third place (3-under) by two shots. There is still plenty more golf to be played with the second and final round taking place on Wednesday.

“I tried to represent South Hadley well, and play well for everyone in town,” Miller said. “It feels good going low in the first round, now let’s hope I can play well [Wednesday].”

Ahead of Miller at 8-under is Dedham’s Joey Lenane, who turned in a blistering score of 64 in the morning wave – a score that only Miller threatened at one point. Lenane had a chance to add one more circle to his scorecard on the 18th green, but he watched his birdie putt go halfway down and lip out.

The North Carolina State rising junior would tap in for par, heading to the clubhouse as the leader after 18 holes. He only had one blemish on his card, with a bogey on nine spurring from an errant approach shot that he quickly made up for to dismiss the chance of a big number.

“Everything was working good for me today,” Lenane said. “My wedges especially, and I rolled it well inside of 15 feet. I never took myself out of position other than my approach on the ninth hole when I hit it out-of-bounds. I hit the next one up close to the green and got up-and-down, so I minimized the damage. I kept myself in play and kept giving myself opportunities all day.”

Perhaps the most absurd part of Lenane’s stellar round of 64 – only two shots off the course record (62), which he believes he could’ve reached if it weren’t for the missed putt on 18 and the bogey on nine – is that he had never played a round of golf at Ledges prior to Tuesday.

During his early-morning car ride to South Hadley, he did some research to gauge what he was up against. After seeing a few holes that he could attack, he knew he wanted to be bold and go after them.

That led to an eagle on No. 15 – a 286-yard par 4 – following a 5-wood off the tee that Lenane stuck to six feet, and a birdie on the 291-yard 16th.

“I looked at a course fly-over last night, and looked at some pictures on the drive up, but that was it,” Lenane said. “I play fairly aggressive, so I tried to stick to that. The short par 4s, I tried to go for all of them, and I played them four under – so I guess that worked out for me.”

Defending champion Ben Spitz (Milton, George Wright Golf Course), who won in 2023 at Olde Scotland Links in Bridgewater, cruised to a 1-under round of 71, sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on 18 to get him into red numbers to end his day.

Spitz said he recognizes the heightened expectation that comes with the title of defending champion, and he’s going to do his best to block that out come Round 2.

“When you have higher expectation, usually you tend to play worse,” Spitz said. “I kind of just gotta let that go [Wednesday] and just go out there and swing it and see what happens... It’s pretty tight out there. It’s target golf. Overall, I played pretty well. I got it around, shot 1-under… As long as I get off the tee [Wednesday], I should be in good shape. But we’ll see. Who knows?”

Other locals shine on Tuesday

Sixteen-year-old phenom Michael Murray ripped off a 3-under score of 69 to tie for third on Tuesday. The rising Belchertown High School junior teed off on the back nine to start his round, and a stretch of three consecutive birdies on 16, 17 and 18 helped him shoot a 33 through nine holes – followed by an even-par 36 on the front nine to finish out the day.

The last four holes at Ledges are certainly a group of holes that can be played well by above average players, and Murray took full advantage of them during his round.

“That sort of got my adrenaline pumping, and I started swinging faster and getting more aggressive,” Murray said. “I didn’t get any putts to drop on the front nine, but in the moment of those three holes, I was feeling pretty good. I was just getting it as close as possible and making the putts. Fifteen I lipped out for birdie, so that would’ve been even better if I made that.”

The youngest golfer in the field, Murray has put himself in great position heading into the final round.

Country Club of Greenfield’s Andy Lesenski was back in action after a long weekend at his club’s 79th Invitational Four Ball. Lesenski chuckled as he said he didn’t pick up – or even look at – a golf club on Monday to give himself a break before the APL Championship on Tuesday.

The seven-time CCG club champion – including a current stretch of five straight, the 2024 edition being his most recent – didn’t play poorly in Round 1, but he didn’t have his best stuff en route to a 3-over 75. Lesenski is tied for 24th heading into Wednesday.

“It’s been a long month, really,” he said. “The club championship started the month, so I had to gear up for that. And then it’s tough because there’s just enough of a break in between that and the Four Ball where you don’t wanna stop. And the Four Ball, every year, takes everything out of you. So [Monday], I didn’t touch a club, I didn’t look at a club, I laid in bed as long as I could.

“I just had a couple of loose swings, that’s all it was,” Lesenski added. “The course is in phenomenal shape. I putted OK. It’s tough to put a finger on what really would’ve made the difference, overall my game felt pretty solid aside from some of those loose swings. Obviously I wish I shot under par and made a bunch of birdies, but I’m just trying to stay positive after the long month.”

Elsewhere, Crumpin-Fox Club’s Mark Waskiewicz shot a 1-over 73 to put him in a tie for 10th place. He tees off at 9:06 a.m. on Wednesday looking to work his way farther up the top 10.

Westover Golf Course’s Kevin Bagge carded a 4-over round of 76, as he’s tied for 36th heading into the final round, and Steve Elkins of Amherst Golf Club notched a 78 (6-over) to just make the cut and earn another day of golf.

Wednesday’s tee times start at 8 a.m. and will continue every 11 minutes until the final groups head out at 9:50 a.m.