He was supposed to be an afterthought in the $1.2 million New Zealand Open as he was drawn to play in an afternoon round struck by fierce winds.
Instead, the 24-year-old Washington native found himself in a three-way tie for the lead with two compatriots.
History repeated itself as the morning golfers blessed the weather and the afternoon battlers - with that one exception - cursed it at The Hills.
In late 2007, when the Open was first played here, there was a startling disparity between the early and the late tee-offs.
So it was again yesterday as Americans Josh Teater and Todd Demsey blasted seven-under-par 65s in the morning to lead the tournament and never looked like slipping back.
Crisp, fine morning conditions gave way to a strong southwesterly in the afternoon, instantly making the course seem longer.
But somebody didn't tell Prugh that.
He produced a bogey-free 65 that matched Teater and Demsey but, given the conditions, was the round of the day.
"The wind was tough but it was doable. I made my birdies in the most wind," Prugh said after his round.
"I just got the putter a little hot."
Prugh birdied five of his last six holes and made a long putt on the 18th to seal his super round.
Demsey had a flawless round that included seven birdies, while Teater was heading the same way until he flamed out with a double-bogey six on the 18th.
The chasing bunch included Stephen Dartnall (Australia), Martin Piller (United States) and Seung-su Han (Korea), all of who carded five-under-par 67s to be tied for fourth.
The best of the New Zealanders was Steve Alker, who continued his impressive form from the PGA at Clearwater with a four-under-par 68.
Grant Waite was joined by amateur Thomas Spearman-Burn at two-under, one shot better than Danny Lee, while Michael Long finished with three consecutive bogies to end on par.
Sir Bob Charles (73 tomorrow) became the oldest player in the history of the Nationwide Tour, beating the old mark set by South African great Gary Player, and he responded with a one-over 73.
Charles had two double bogies but added five birdies to show some of his vastly younger colleagues a lesson.
Teater, who tied for seventh in the New Zealand PGA, had four consecutive birdies on the back nine as he made the most of the benign morning conditions.
"Today was totally different to the first few days we've been here," Teater said.
"There was no real wind to account for. I was hitting it pretty decent and getting it close, and then making some putts.
"We knew we were going to have to make a bunch of birdies because who knows what the second round will bring."
Kentuckian Teater (29) is a rookie on the Nationwide Tour.
Possibly lack of experience prevented him being the outright first-round leader.
He was sailing through the round and needed only a par on the 18th to sit on a two-shot buffer.
But he was wayward off the tee and never really recovered.
New Zealand veteran Alker is playing second fiddle to Lee in terms of attention but is quietly getting the job done.
He was thoroughly efficient in his two-shot win at Clearwater, shooting 67-67 over the weekend.
He wasn't quite so neat yesterday, posting bogies on the seventh, eighth and 12th.
But he made key putts and his run of birdies (four in five holes) on his opening nine holes set him up for a good score.
"The last couple of holes were getting tough because the wind was getting up and it was switching," Alker said.
"I got in a nice groove in the front nine and I made a couple of nice putts in the back nine to keep things going."
Alker played in the popular group of the day with crowd favourite Lee and American Vance Veazey.
All three had birdies on 15, 16 and 17 and Alker said the three players built momentum off each other's performance.
The cut was three-over-par 145 at The Hills 15 months ago.
But scores were lower yesterday in comparison.
First-round leaders in 2007 shot 68, and 19 golfers shot that or better yesterday.
That suggests the cut will be made at something like even-par or one-over.
