PENN TWP— Heavy rain over the past few days tamed the greens at Butler Country Club.

The golfers then tamed the course.

Fifteen players shot below par and another eight shot even par during the first round of the 104th West Penn Open Monday.

When the day was done, two members of St. Jude Golf Club — a pair of amateurs who have never won this event — shared the lead with a 4-under-par 66:Sean Knapp and Nathan Smith.

Both played during the morning round, when the rain and wind held off. There was plenty of both during the afternoon session.

"This was the time to get this course,"Knapp admitted of the morning round. "We didn't have much wind and the course was in incredible shape when you consider it's probably taken five inches of rain in the past week.

"You could really go for it today and that's what I kept telling myself, hole after hole. This event is a sprint and I usually pace myself. ... That's one of the reasons I've never won this."

Smith has never won it, either, but is coming off a second consecutive West Penn Amateur title and is bidding to become the 11th golfer to win both of the WPGA's signature tournaments.

"The greens are so tough here,"Smith said. "The rain really did soften them up, but you can still get a slight bump and throw your putt off the mark.

"All the birdies I made today were putts under 10 feet away. I got a lot of good looks today."

Knapp had no bogeys in his round and birdied Nos. 2, 5, 8 and 15. Smith bogeyed No. 10, but birdied Nos. 1, 8, 11, 12 and 14.

Knapp and Smith are attempting to become the first amateur to win the West Penn Open since Marshall Marraccini in 2001.

"With greens this soft, we might have had wind on four holes. ... I'm not surprised so many low scores are coming in,"Knapp said.

The golfer with the best round potentially Monday was Butler resident Rob McClellan, assistant pro at Butler Country Club. He was 6-under-par with four holes remaining, but took a double-bogey on No. 7 and bogeyed No. 9.

McClellan teed off on No. 11 to begin his round.

"Today was about as soft as these greens can get,"McClellan said. "There were birdie opportunities all over the course. It may not be that way tomorrow.

"The end of my round was rough, but I can't complain. I'm in position to make a run, and that's all you want on that first day."

McClellan carded a 67 and joins Bobby MacWhinnie of Upper St. Clair at one stroke off the pace entering today's final round.

Former Butler High School golfer, Jon Pratkanis, is three strokes off the pace after carding a 69 Monday morning.

"I've played the front nine here a number of times, but I haven't done the back nine much at all the past few years,"Pratkanis said. "The back nine here is pretty straightforward, though.

"The key to playing well on this course is not missing the fairway with your drive off the tee. You get behind the trees and it's tough to make par. That happened to me a few times today," he added

Of the 15 golfers to finish under par Monday, only three did so during the afternoon round. Chad Warmbein turned in a 68 while Stu Michaels and Ron DeNunzio had 69.

Despite the on again, off again rain that hit the course Monday afternoon, play was never delayed.

"I think the rain helped the pace of play,"WPGAexecutive director Jeff Rivard said. "Guys were getting done in 4:10, 4:20. ... That's a pretty good pace. You could go right for the flag today and not get hurt."

Fifty-seven of the 140 golfers qualified for today's final round. The highest score to stay in the tournament was a 3-over 73.

David Wedzik of North East had not played at Butler Country Club in 15 years — and carded a 68 during the morning round anyway.

"I'd been playing pretty good golf lately and the course was in really good shape,"Wedzik said. "I didn't know what to expect coming down here. I thought it might be under water."

Knapp lost a playoff to Dan Thompson in the 2007 West Penn Open at Mystic Rock. He was scheduled to join Smith and McClellan in the final trio to tee off at 9 a.m. today.

<B>Player....................Residence....................Score</B>Rob McClellan.....Butler....................67Joe Boros....................Gibsonia....................68Jon Pratkanis....................Kittanning....................69Travis Dickson....................Butler....................72Gene Walter....................Saxonburg....................72John Aubrey....................Butler....................73Dan Rodgers....................Butler....................73Rob Voltz....................Butler....................75Bill Wotus....................Cranberry Twp.....................75<B>Player....................Residence....................Score</B>George Bilowick....................Butler....................76Ryan Swierczynski....................Mars....................76Frank Blazewick....................Cranberry Twp.....................76John Hook....................Cabot....................76Cameron Peterson....................Grove City....................78Paul Hollstein....................Butler....................79Ed Schoeffel....................Cranberry Twp.....................81Mike Marron....................Butler....................82