Barker goes 5 under for early lead at Sunnehanna Amateur

June 12, 2019 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Lachlan Barker (Iowa State Athletics photo)

The Australian was a star as a junior golfer Down Under, and is now channeling some of that magic in Pennsylvania.

Australian Lachlan Barker has the lead at the Sunnehanna Amateur after a first-round 5-under 65 at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pa. Barker, a rising junior at Iowa State, sprinkled seven birdies into his round to climb to the top.

Barker shined as a junior golfer in Australia, winning the South Australian Junior Championship and the Malaysian Amateur as a kid and coming in third at the Australian Junior Championship. He was a two-time team captain for the South Australian Junior squad. He has been second on the Iowa State team in scoring each of the past two seasons.

Barker is one of four Australians in the field. Jack Trent is also near the top after a 1-under 69 left him tied for eight.

Directly behind Barker, James Nicholas of Scarsdale, N.Y., had a 4-under 66 to find solo second. But for a closing bogey at the par-4 18th, Nicholas would have been even with Barker.

Nicholas is a rising senior on the Yale men’s golf team who briefly played football at the university. He is multi-talented as an athlete, and also was the sixth all-time leading scorer in New York high school hockey history.

Just last week, Nicholas and partner Chris Troy played their way to the final match at the Anderson Memorial, a prestigious four-ball event at Winged Foot.

A three-way tie for third includes Mason Overstreet, Spencer Soosman and Andy Spencer.

Defending champion Alex Smalley is tied for sixth at 2-under 68.

Results: Sunnehanna Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Alex Smalley	Wake Forest, NC	1200	68-70-66-66=270
2	Garett Reband	York, SC	900	70-72-68-65=275
3	James Nicholas	Scarsdale, NY	700	66-72-70-68=276
4	John Pak	Scotch Plains, NJ	700	75-67-67-68=277
T5	Quade Cummins	Weatherford, OK	700	69-72-70-67=278

View full results for Sunnehanna Amateur

About the Sunnehanna Amateur

Barker goes 5 under for early lead at Sunnehanna Amateur

First played in July 1954, the Sunnehanna Amateur holds a distinguished place in golf history as the first country club-sponsored 72-hole medal (stroke) play event for amateurs in the United States. Its groundbreaking format helped set the standard f...