Go, Ralston, Walker chase record, find lead at Western Am
Lloyd Jefferson Go (WGA photo)
NORTHFIELD, Ill. (July 30, 2018) – The competitive course record at Sunset Ridge Golf Course came under fire Tuesday in the opening round of the Western Amateur. Three players dove to 8 under, coming within one shot of the record.
Lloyd Jefferson Go,
Spencer Ralston and
Matthew Walker share the first-round lead at 63. Go was the first player to land on that number early in the day on Tuesday. A two-time Big East Player of the Year while at Seton Hall, Go made two birdies and an eagle on the three par 5s in a bogey-free round.
“Coming into this tournament, I really didn’t expect anything,” said Go, last summer’s Dogwood Invitational winner. “I had been struggling, so I came out here trying to have fun. Hopefully, I keep it up over the next few days.”
Ralston, a junior at Georgia, was even through six before an eagle at the par-5 seventh helped him turn at 2 under. He got it going on the second nine with four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 16th.
“I hit the ball in the fairway, which I kind of struggled with, but a hot putter can make up for a lot,” Ralston said. “I gave myself a lot of opportunities, and I was rolling it well.”
Walker, a senior at Iowa, had the cleanest card with eight birdies and no bogeys.
Scores were low across the board, with 85 of the 156 players in the field firing a first round in the red. Four players are tied for fourth at 7 under, one behind the leaders. Among those players,
Shuai Ming Wong got as low as 8 under through 13 holes only to make two bogeys coming in and finish one off the lead.
“I think I definitely left some out there,” said Wong, a freshman at Southern Methodist. “I really was feeling it out there today. I had a couple of setbacks, but that’s part of golf.”
Also at that number are
John Augenstein, the Players Amateur champion from Vanderbilt;
Chandler Phillips, the Texas A&M standout; and
Fernando Barco, winner of the Mexican International Amateur, Peru International Amateur and Terra Cotta Invitational.
In a group at 6 under are
Cole Hammer,
Isaac Merry, and
Sam Stevens. Hammer was part of the winning team at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball this spring. Merry is playing in his last tournament as an amateur before turning professional. He played college golf at New Mexico State.
ABOUT THE Western Amateur
Invitational event, and the most important
tournament in American amateur golf outside of the
U.S. Amateur. With a grueling schedule, it's quite
possibly the
hardest amateur tournament to win.
156 invited players come from across the
globe to play one of the toughest formats in
amateur golf. The tournament starts with 18
holes of stroke play on Tuesday and
Wednesday after which the field is cut to the
low 44 scores and ties. Thursday it's a long
day of 36 holes of stroke play to determine
the “Sweet Sixteen” who compete at Match
Play on Friday and Saturday (two matches
each day if you're going to the finals) to
decide the champion.
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