North & South: Chad Merzbacher posts 69 for early lead at Pinehurst
Chad Merzbacher birdied the 18th
to fire 69 on Pinehurst No. 2
PINEHURST, North Carolina (June 29, 2015) -- Chad Merzbacher opened up the stroke play qualifying portion of the North & South Amateur with a solid round of 69 on a course that just a year ago hosted the U.S. Open.
The best part?
Merzbacher not only was the only player to better the par of 70 on No. 2, he did so with a birdie at the classic 18th hole.
A shot back of Merzbacher, who plays for Tennessee, is George Cunningham, who posted even-par 70. Cunningham started something special on the back nine, with four birdies in five holes from the span of Nos. 10-14.
That run moved him to 3-under on the day, but three-straight bogeys on Nos. 15-17 gave it back to old man par, before Cunningham steadied himself with a closing par. No harm done, as two more rounds of qualifying will determine the top 16 who make match play.
ABOUT THE North & South Amateur
The North & South Amateur Championship is the
longest consecutively run amateur tournament in
the
United States. Its past winners list includes names
like
Walter
Travis, Francis Ouimet, Billy Joe Patton, Jack
Nicklaus
and Curtis Strange. The field is made up of invited
players as well as open applications. Two rounds of
stroke
play are followed by five rounds of match play
(32
qualifiers) to determine the Champion. All stroke
& match play rounds are contested on
Pinehurst No. 2.
View Complete Tournament Information