Score, in first place, nine over the closing holes (5)
I believe the answer is:
notch
'score' is the definition.
(I know that score is a more specific form of the action notch)
'first place nine over the closing holes' is the wordplay.
'first place nine' becomes 'n' (cst letter of 'nine').
'over' becomes 'o' (cricket abbreviation).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'closing holes' becomes 'ch' (this could be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'n'+'o'+'t'+'ch'='NOTCH'
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for notch that I've seen before include "V-shaped nick" , "Secure" , "Nick - score" , "small score?" , "Nick; small cut" .)