Robby Shelton among leaders at Players Amateur
University of Alabama golfer Robbie Shelton
BLUFFTON, S. C. (July 9, 2015) – The 16th Annual Players Amateur began today at Berkeley Hall Golf Club’s North Course with 90 of amateur golf’s elite players.
Leading the way so far are a trio of players at 4-under par, including University of Alabama golfer Robby Shelton, recent Ogelthorpe graduate Anthony Maccaglia, and Armstrong State University graduate Michael Tuten.
Shelton, a first-team All-American selection this past spring, shot a 67 which included six birdies and two bogeys. Maccaglia also played a very solid round that included five birdies and a lone bogey.
Maccaglia won the Jack Nicklaus award early this year as the best Division III golfer in the country. Though he is one of the few non-Division I players in the field, Maccaglia is no stranger to competing against big name players, having competed in last year’s Palmer Cup for the United States.
Tuten began his round even-par through his first nine and then got hot, making three consecutive birdies on holes 10-12 and adding two more on holes 15 and 17 for a back-nine 31.
“It’s going to be a grind all week,” Tuten told the Players Amateur. “It’s really tough out here but I mean these greens are perfect. It’s going to be a putting competition really.”
The trio have a one-shot lead over a very-talented bunch at 3-under including Oklahoma State golfer Zachary Olsen, University of South Carolina golfer Matthew Nesmith, and University of South Florida’s Chase Koepka.
The field has three more rounds to play to decide a champion come Monday. Round two begins at 7am local time Friday.
ABOUT THE Players Amateur
While competing in the 1999 US Amateur
Championship at Pebble Beach, former US
Walker Cup
Team members, Duke Delcher and Tom
McKnight
discussed the formation of a premier 72-hole
stroke
play amateur golf tournament. The inaugural
Players
Amateur was held the next summer. Former
British
Open Champion, Ben Curtis, was the winner of
the
2000 event. In 2004, the Heritage Classic
Foundation
began running the event. The Heritage Classic
Foundation was formed in 1987 as a 501 (c) (3),
not-
for-profit organization, it serves as the
operational
and financial oversight group for the PGA Tour
RBC
Heritage Classic. The Foundation distributes all
charitable funds generated from the tournaments
to
charity. The winner of The Players Amateur gets
an
exemption into the PGA Tour RBC Heritage
Classic, as
well as the Master of the Amateurs tournament
in
Melbourne, Australia.
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