EAST PROVIDENCE — David Holmes knows a thing or two about Donald Ross-designed golf courses.

Holmes grew up playing on one at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn.

That may explain why his debut at the 110-year-old course at Wannamoisett Country Club went so well yesterday, as the 20-year-old shot a 65 to tie with Sihwan Kim for the first-day lead at the 48th annual Northeast Amateur Invitational.

"My home course is a Donald Ross back home in Knoxville," said Holmes, who just finished up his junior year at the University of Tennessee, where he earned honorable mention All-America honors after taking second at the NCAA Northeast Regional and finishing tied for 13th at the NCAA Championships.

"I think they're really good and they set up nicely for my game. I think the greens are really good, have the subtle little breaks, and I'm kind of used to that, keeping it below the hole and stuff like that. I've done it my whole life, so this kind of course sets up nicely for me."

Coming off a fifth-place tie at the Southwestern Amateur, last weekend in Tucson, Ariz., Holmes recorded five birdies — on the 6th, 9th, 11th, 17th and 18th holes — with one bogey on 13, a 383-yard par-4.

"It went well," Holmes said of his round. "I putted well. I didn't hit it particularly great or anything. I just kept myself in there with the putter and played smart. I actually shanked a chip on the 13th hole. It was my only bogey of the day. I got a bad lie in the rough and missed the green. Then I shanked a chip straight across the green, but didn't let it bother me or anything. I stayed patient and didn't get ahead of myself, and just kind of took my birdies where they came."

Kim's sophomore collegiate season didn't go as well as he would have liked at Stanford this spring, but he was happy to get his summer tournament schedule off to such a good start yesterday. He, too, had one bogey — when he flared his 8-iron short and right fringe on the 437-yard par-4 sixth — and carded five birdies — on the 9th, 13th and 16th through 18th holes.

"I think I hit a lot of fairways, but my shot to the green was not too accurate, so I had some long putts here and there and I made a lot of up-and-downs," said Kim, the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and a Ping and Golfweek All-American as a freshman last year.

"I'm being pretty aggressive out there, and I'm not changing my plans."

No one from the afternoon round challenged the leaders .Brian Harman, who has finished as high as third in his five previous appearance and plans to turn pro this fall, was among a half-dozen golfers tied for second at 66.

"I like the changes they've made," said the Savannah, Ga., native, who just finished up his final year at the University of Georgia. "It makes it look more like a U.S. Open golf course. It's a lot of fun, and I think they've made a lot of really good changes."

The changes to the course apparently didn't hurt Brendan Gielow's game. The 21-year-old Wake Forest grad, who last year became the first player in tournament history to break par in every round en route to shooting a four-day total of 267, got his title defense off to a good start, sinking a 15-footer for birdie on the newly lengthened 505-yard second hole and going on to record a 67.

"I three-putted No. 4, which was a little disappointing," said Gielow, of Muskegon, Mich., who is tied with Tyson Alexander of Gainesville, Fla., and Mark Anderson of Beaufort, S.C.

"Then I had a ton of pars and birdied my last two. Overall, I hit it well, putted well; my short putting was really good. (The course) was really lush. I mean, it's really soft, obviously, because we've gotten a lot of rain. But the course is playing nice."

Also in the field of 84, reigning New England Amateur Champion Matt Broome of Barrington bogeyed three holes but birdied four others to finish 1-under at 68.

Four-time R.I. Golf Association Player of the Year Charlie Blanchard offset two bogeys on the front nine with two birdies on the back side to finish even par. He was one of nine to shoot a 69, along with Cumberland's David Marino. Warwick's Brad Valois, a past R.I. Junior Amateur, R.I. Amateur and New England Amateur champion, is one of 15 players at 71.

Reigning R.I. Amateur Champion David McAndrew of Barrington and former champ Ben Tuthill of Rumford were tied with three other golfers at 74.

cthorn@projo.com