Nick Mekus’ round started with a couple of bogeys and an early deficit. It ended with a golden string of birdies, a smile, and the lead at the Warren County Championship.

Mekus birdied seven of his last 11 holes Saturday to finish with a 5-under par 67 in the first round of the County Championship at Clear Creek Golf Course. He held a three-shot over Gabriel Riveros and Parker Rutherford heading into today’s final round.

Kevin Neihaus was five shots back after shooting a 72.

“Driver is all it was, really. Hit it straight is all you need out here. You can drive all the par 4s,” said Mekus, who was the runner-up in the County Championship last year and won the MHSAA Class 1A championship twice when he was a student at St. Aloysius. “You can’t ever complain with making eight birdies in a day. I’m happy about it.”

In the Senior Championship, Rodney McHann shot a 71 to lead Eddie Ray and Mike Caruthers by four strokes. Jeff Cowan was fourth after shooting a 76.

Two-time defending champion Karley Whittington led the Ladies Championship after shooting a first-round 69. Linda McHann was second, at 82, and Dinah Lazor third with a 106. Whittington, McHann and Lazor were the only players entered in the Ladies’ tournament.

With four-time men’s champion Chris Whittington ineligible to play because he’s no longer a Warren County resident, and several other perennial contenders not playing for various reasons, the 2015 County Championship seemed wide open. It turned into a four-man race, however, with three of them playing in the same foursome Saturday afternoon.

Rutherford birdied the first two holes to take an early lead, but Mekus started to heat up around the turn. Mekus made four consecutive birdies on Nos. 8-11 and kept on rolling through the back nine.

“I started off kind of shaky, then made those (birdies) and I was good from then on. I made birdies all over the place,” Mekus said.

Rutherford and Riveros stayed within striking distance with steady rounds — between them, they made par or birdie on 33 out of 36 holes — but still headed into today’s final round with a deficit to make up.

Neither seemed shaken by the three-shot difference between themselves and Mekus.

“I know any one of us can win. It’s up in the air and it’s anyone’s tournament at this point,” Rutherford said. “Eighteen holes is a long time to go, especially when all of us played really solidly today. If you watched our group, you wouldn’t know who shot the 70s and who shot the 67s. Whoever comes out tomorrow is going to be whoever went and got it.”

Rutherford is trying to finally break through in the Warren County Championship. He’s finished in the top three each of the past five years but never won. Chris Whittington beat him twice on the final hole.

“It means a lot to me, just because it’s all my friends, all my peers, all the people I’ve grown up playing with. People who have welcomed me since I was 13 years old. It just has a special place for me,” Rutherford said. “I don’t see that as extra motivation, but when I think about the Warren County there’s definitely a place in my heart for this tournament. I love this tournament.”

Riveros was confident as well, based on the way he’s played this week at Clear Creek. The senior at St. Aloysius won the Warren County Junior Championship by shooting 73 and 69 on Monday and Tuesday, then followed it up with another round below par. He only made one bogey Saturday.

“Being three back is not really a lot. Anything can happen,” Riveros said. “We were all kind of motivating each other. It was really fun to play with each other. They’re always encouraging and lifting you up.”

How much that continues with local bragging rights on the line remains to be seen. Riveros will play in a foursome with Mekus, Rutherford and Neihaus that tees off at 10:40 a.m. It should be as intense a group as it is fun.

“It will be pretty intense, but we’re all good friends so I’m not really worried about it,” Riveros said.

Mekus, meanwhile, knows he’ll have to be at his best to win the County Championship for the first time. Another 67 should do it — and it might be necessary.

“I’ve always got this kind of round in me. Whether I do it or not is a different story,” Mekus said. “I have to, because (Rutherford) can do that very easily. He should’ve done it today. He had just as many chances as I did. It’s just the putts dropping.”