C.J. Brock during Texas Mid-Amateur first round
(TXGA Photo)
BEE CAVE, TX (September 25, 2016) -- The second
round restart of the Texas Mid-Amateur was
favorable
for leader C.J. Brock. After darkness suspended play
on
Saturday Brock returned to the Spanish Oaks Golf
Club
for the final four holes of his round and promptly
jarred
the second shot of his day on the par-4 15th.
The shot moved Brock to 6-under (68-68) and
that
is where he will begin the final round. Colby Harwell
is
in second place at 3-under.
Three others are tied for third at 1-under with
the
final round set to begin late this morning.
-Story by AmateurGolf.com Staff
DAY TWO RECAP
-Story by Texas Golf Association
The second
round of the 2016 Texas Mid-Amateur Championship
was suspended due to darkness at 7:26 p.m. on
Saturday. Play will resume Sunday at 7:30 a.m. at
Spanish Oaks Golf Club. The final round of the 54-
hole,
stroke-play championship will commence following
the
conclusion of the second round.
Colby Harwell from San Antonio holds the
clubhouse lead at 3-under-par 139. He finished early
on
Saturday and posted a 1-under 70 that featured five
birdies, including three in a row on his 10th, 11th
and
12th holes. Harwell, part of Texas’ victorious 2014
U.S.
State Team Championship squad, shot a 2-under 69
in
Friday’s opening round.
“All of the sudden I found my bread-and-butter
shot,” said Harwell, winner of the 2013 and ’16
Carlton
Woods Invitational and 2013 Crane Cup. “I like to
work
the ball right to left, and I found that again. I’m
comfortable over the ball and I can take a cut
without
worrying about the right side of the course.”
Still on the course when darkness halted play,
C.J.
Brock from Richardson holds the overall lead at 4-
under
par. The long-hitting lefthander has four holes
remaining in his second round. Brock, the leader
after
the first round, made a birdie on the par-3 14th and
elected not to tee off on No. 15 as dusk settled in at
Spanish Oaks.
Also yet to complete his second round is Brian
Noonan from Austin. He’s tied with Harwell at 3-
under
par. Christopher Wheeler from Addison and Kevin
Doskocil from Fort Worth finished their second
rounds
and share fourth place at 1-under 141. Wheeler shot
an
even-par round of 71 on Saturday; Doskocil signed
for a
1-over 72.
All three players tied for sixth place were able to
complete their second rounds. Rick Sulzer from
Carrollton, J.J. Wall from San Antonio and Josh
Irving
from Dallas currently sit at even-par 142. For up-to-
date scoring, click here.
Once the second round concludes, the field will
be
cut to the low 54 scores, including ties. As of the
suspension of play, 57 players were at 12-over 154;
however, several of those players have yet to finish
the
second round.
During the afternoon wave of Saturday’s second
round, lightning in the area created a dangerous
situation and caused play to be suspended at 4:44
p.m.
It was a brief halt, and play resumed at 5:33 p.m.
Stephen Paterson from Austin shot the day’s low
round, a sizzling 5-under 66 that saw him hit all 18
greens in regulation. It was quite a bounce-back
effort
from the 40-year-old computer engineer. He shot
10-
over 81 in the first round.
“I just wasn’t trying to push it too much today,”
said Patterson, who finished ninth at the 2006 Texas
Amateur and 14th in 2014 and ’15. “I didn’t hit it
that
bad yesterday. I just haven’t had enough
competitive
rounds on this course.”
Kip Guidry from Missouri City made the
tournament’s second hole-in-one when he aced the
125-yard, par-3 14th hole on Saturday.
“It landed four feet right of the hole, spun left
and
disappeared,” said the 50-year-old Guidry, who had
his
81-year-old father Kirby caddying for him.
Guidry shot a second round 78. Harwell aced the
same home in Friday’s first round.
ROUND ONE RECAP
C.J. Brock
didn’t
hesitate when asked about the key to the 3-under-
par
68 he shot on Friday to lead the 2016 Texas Mid-
Amateur Championship after one round at Spanish
Oaks
Golf Club.
“Patience,” said Brock, a 39-year-old partner of
a
Dallas-based marketing and advertising firm. “This is
a
plodder’s course. You have to be patient and think
out
there. This course will eat you alive in a second if
you
try to step on the gas.”
Brock said his methodical approach helped him
stay
in the fairway for most of the day. He missed just
three
fairways in regulation and never took more than two
putts on any green. He leads six golfers by one shot
headed into Saturday’s second of three rounds at
one of
the more challenging courses in Texas.
“I hit a great drive on my first hole and had 111
yards to the hole,” said Brock, who started on the
388-
yard, par-4 10th. “I hit my approach over the green
and
made a bogey. Normally, that would get me hot
under
the collar. But I told myself to stay calm. It’s a long
tournament, and I was bound to make a bogey
somewhere.”
Brock, who played in the U.S. Mid-Amateur two
weeks ago, shook off the shaky start and remained
engaged. He hit driver, 3-wood to six feet on his
second
hole, which was the 505-yard, par-5 11th. When he
rolled in the eagle putt, he felt rewarded by the self-
control he exhibited after the hiccup a hole earlier.
Among those a shot back is San Antonio’s Colby
Harwell, a 31-year-old realtor who won a USGA
National
Championship in 2014 as one-third of the U.S. State
Team Championship squad. Harwell’s 2-under 69
came
thanks in large part from one swing of his trusty
pitching wedge. He aced the 154-yard, par-3 14th.
“I teed the ball up a little higher than usual to
take
a little spin off it,” Harwell said. “It landed five feet
short and 10 feet to the right. It turned over and
rolled
right in the cup.”
Also one shot back is Josh Irving from Dallas.
He’s
the reigning Texas Player of the Year and also made
it
to the Quarterfinals of this month’s U.S. Mid-
Amateur at
Stonewall Links in Everson, Pa. After advancing
through
the 36-hole stroke play Qualifier at Stonewall Links,
Irving proceeded to win three matches.
The others who shot 2-under 69 on Friday and
trail
Brock by one shot include Andrew Wyatt from
Midland,
J.J. Wall from San Antonio and Kevin Doskocil and
Scott
Volpitto from Fort Worth.
Three more players are just two shots back.
Patrick
Datz, a Spanish Oaks member from Austin,
Christopher
Wheeler from Addison and Rick Sulzer from
Carrollton
all posted 1-under 70s.
Playing at only 6,925 yards as a par-71 track,
the
breathtaking Spanish Oaks course packed plenty of
bite
against a field of the best mid-amateurs in the state.
The collective scoring average was more than seven
shots over par at 78.08. Ranked as the third best
private course in Texas by Golf Digest, Spanish Oaks
challenges golfers with a series of blind tee shots and
forced carries over hazardous canyons and ravines.
Designed in 2001 by Bobby Weed, the PGA
Tour’s
former in-house architect, Spanish Oaks also
features
large, rolling greens. The TiffEagle Bermuda grass
putting surfaces have the kind of subtle breaks and
gentle slopes that take time and repetition to
understand, let alone conquer.
While many players struggled to find a level of
comfort on the Hill Country course, 10 percent of the
field – 13 golfers – posted scores of even par or
better.
Ten mid-amateurs finished under par for the first
round.
“If you stay between the thick stuff out here,
you
can score,” Wall said. “The course is in such good
condition, especially the greens. You just have to
stay
out of trouble.”
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