Eastern Amateur: Davenport, Betts share lead
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (July 10, 2014) -- Riley Davenport and William Betts both shot 5-under 65 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the 2014 Eastern Amateur.
Roughly half the field will complete its first round as rain forced the suspension of play Thursday.
At Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club, Davenport, who plays UNC Charlotte, and Betts, who plays at Hartford, jumped out the one-shot lead with stellar starts in the 72-hole stroke-play championship.
Betts is coming off a victory at the Hornblower Memorial in late May.
Paul Babashanian of California University (Pennsylvania) and Grant Hirschmann, a highly-touted Oklahoma commit, both carded 4-under 66s and are tied for third.
A total of 13 players managed to break par in Round 1 with four shots separating those contenders. Four more players shot even par and are five back.
The championship runs through Sunday when a new winner will be added to the impressive list of champions that includes Strange, Crenshaw, Giles, Wadkins and more.
For a full look at the leaderboard, follow the results link below.
ABOUT THE Eastern Amateur
The Eastern Amateur is a 72 hole stroke play
event that perennially attracts a top-drawer field.
The tournament has been
played -- with the exception of 1977 and 1999 -- at
Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club. Elizabeth
Manor is a par 70 Dick Wilson design in Portsmouth,
Virginia.
The impressive list of winners includes U.S. Open
winners Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Andy Bean,
Hubert Green, Jim Furyk and Steve Jones. Other
notables who have played in the Eastern Amateur
are Lanny Wadkins, Arron Oberholser, Steve Marino,
Scott Hoch, Clarence Rose, Gary Koch, Bob Tway,
John Rollins, Fred Funk, Carl Petterson, Chip Beck,
Jim Simons, Ben Crenshaw, Steve Melnyk, Andy
Bean and Steve Liebler. Liebler won the who the
Eastern in three different decades and is the only
golfer to have ever qualified for the USGA Junior,
USGA Amateur, USGA Open, USGA Public Links,
USGA Senior Open and USGA Senior Amateur as
well
as representing his state in the USGA Team
competition.
View Complete Tournament Information