Jake Marriott, Matt Hutchins and Justin Tereshko lead at Brookside G&CC
COLUMBUS, OH (July 11, 2018) –
Jake Marriott used his own special brand of local knowledge Tuesday to fire a second round 65 and take a share of the 36-hole lead at the 115th Trans-Mississippi Championship.
Marriott finished his 36 holes with a 9-under par total of 135, tied with
Matt Hutchins with both golfers from Naples, Florida. Both carded matching rounds of 70-65. Mid-Amateur
Justin Tereshko from Lexington, Kentucky was also tied for the lead at 66-69-135.
Chip Thomas of Knoxville, Tennessee was alone in fourth with back-to-back rounds of 68 for an 8-under total of 136. LSU Golfer
Trey Winstead used a hole-in-one Wednesday on the par-3 16th to finish tied for fifth along with
Pierceson Coody, the grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody, with both golfers at 137.
While Marriott had never played Brookside Golf & Country Club, site of this week’s event and one of the home courses of Jack Nicklaus who grew up in the area, he did have a connection to Brookside general manager Matt Ruehling. The current Brookside GM was the general manager at the course in Illinois where Marriott learned to play, and is hosting his longtime friend this week at his house, giving him plenty of Brookside course information.
“It’s a cool course,” Marriott said. “I can tell there’s a big advantage to getting the ball into the fairway. He (Matt) is helping me with the course, but I feel my game is good and getting better.”
Starting on the 10th hole Wednesday after a Tuesday rain delay caused a lengthy round two delay, Marriott had three birdies on the back nine and four on the front with no bogeys. He highlighted his round with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 12 hole, his first birdie of the day and a 30-foot birdie bomb on No. 1.
“Fairways and greens are key here,” Marriott said.
He recently graduated from Augusta State in Augusta, Georgia and while he has earned some conditional status on the PGA Tour Canada, he has remained an amateur until he attempts to go to Web.com qualifying school later this fall.
“There is no better place to prepare for Q-School and get ready to turn pro than playing in big time amateur event like this. I’ve played in the Trans-Miss before, but I did so bad, I don’t remember how bad I did. My game is a lot better now.”
Winstead used a 9-iron to ace the 134-yard uphill par three 16th hole to remain in the thick of the battle.
Since the Texas Golf Association took over leadership of the Trans-Miss Golf Association five years ago, not many people have won both the Texas State Amateur and the Trans-Miss. But
Zander Lozano is looking to change that.
The 2017 Texas Amateur winner who played college golf at Texas-San Antonio fired a second round 71 to finish tied for 7th with
Andy Spencer from Prairie Village, Kansas.
“I felt good today. My drives were in the fairway, the iron shots were on the green and the putts were in the hole,” he said.
Lozano had two birdies on the front nine and one on the back before back to back bogeys on holes 15 and 16 derailed his early momentum.
The cut fell at even-par 144, with 67 players advancing to the final two rounds.
ABOUT THE Trans-Miss Championship
The Trans-Miss is one of the oldest and
most storied golf tournaments in the United
States.
For 106 years the championship
was played in a match play format.
Past champions include Jack Nicklaus (1958
and 1959), Charles Coe (1947, 1949, 1952 and
1956), Deane Beman (1960), George Archer
(1963), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Gary Koch
(1973), Bob Tway (1978), Mark Brooks (1978)
and other professional tour notables. In
1987 the championship was changed to a mid-
amateur age requirement, and a senior division
was also added. Starting in 2010, the Trans-
Mississippi Championship, returned to its roots
as an
open amateur tournament, and immediately
established itself as a "must-play" among
top collegiate and mid-am players, while
changing to
a 72-hole stroke play format. The field size
starts at
144 players from Trans-
Mississippi Golf Association member clubs (or
players receiving a special invitation from the
Championship Committee). After 36 holes, a cut
is
made to the low 54 and ties who play the final
two
rounds.
View Complete Tournament Information