HUDSON — Chris Rivard was talking on his cell phone in the parking lot at Green Meadow Golf Club in Hudson on Tuesday when a member of the media interrupted his conversation with some disappointing news.

“Well, I guess I'm in second now,” Rivard said when he got back on the phone.

Rivard looked as if he would be the leader after the NHGA Stroke Play Championship's opening round, but 28-year-old Spofford resident Ryan Kohler spoiled Rivard's hopes by shooting a 3-under-par 69 on Green Meadow's Jungle Course late in the day.

Kohler, who didn't begin playing golf until after he graduated from Keene State College, will enter the tournament's second day in sole possession of the lead, one-stroke ahead of Rivard.

“I started playing golf with my buddies, then I got the fever,” Kohler said. “Every year I've gotten better so far.”

Kohler is self-employed as a graphic designer and is a member at Hooper Golf Club, a nine-hole course in Walpole. He said he plays most of his golf at Brattleboro (Vt.) Country Club.

Kohler reached the semifinals of the 2011 State Amateur Championship, and played in the U.S. Public Links last month. His opening round included five birdies and two bogeys.

“My loose shots didn't cost me, and I had only one three-putt, which is good for me,” Kohler said.

Rivard isn't a professional golfer, but he's about as close as you can get.

The 70 he shot Tuesday was Rivard's first amateur event since he won the Stroke Play Championship in 2006. In between he moved to Florida and gave professional golf a try. He regained his amateur status last week.

“I tried to do the mini-tour thing, but it's tough to find financial backing,” Rivard said. “It was a good experience playing at that level.”

Rivard, 33, graduated from Manchester Memorial High School and plays out of Candia Woods. He lives in Hudson and works for an insurance company in Merrimack.

“It wasn't exciting at all,” Rivard said when asked about Tuesday's round. “It was just steady.”

Nashua Country Club's James Pleat and Crotched Mountain Golf Club's Michael Martel are tied for third, two shots behind Kohler.

Crotched Mountain's Josh Chamberlain, Manchester Country Club's Jake Nutter and Lake Sunapee Country Club's D.J. Lantz each shot even-par 72 and are tied for fifth.

Nutter, a 19-year-old Bedford resident, made five birdies in his round, four of which came on the front nine.

Nutter's final nine holes included a bogey on the 13th hole and a double-bogey on the 15th — his second double-bogey of the day — before he finished the round with a birdie.

“Even though I had the birdie on 18 I was kind of disappointed to finish like that,” Nutter said. “All of my big numbers came from poor swings off the tee.”

Nick MacDonald, who won this event last year, is not in this year's field.

Atkinson Country Club's Joe Leavitt, who won the State Amateur championship last month, opened the tournament with a 4-over-par 76.

The low 40 scores plus ties and anyone within 10 shots of the lead after today's round will advance to the tournament's third and final day, which will feature 36 holes.

rbrown@unionleader.com