Pang battles wind to lead AmateurGolf.com Pacific Grove City
Darren Pang (Photo by Conner Penfold)
Three distinct playing conditions greeted contestants at Pacific Grove Golf Links on Saturday. Early tee times enjoyed the morning calm, middle-of-the-pack groups fought the increasing winds, and late pairings watched the fog roll in from the Pacific Ocean.
Darren Pang fell into the second category, as he fired his first tee shot at 8:50 a.m. and likely experienced more brisk winds than most of the field, particularly on the exposed but picturesque back nine. After circling back-to-back 2s on his scorecard at the 9th and 10th, the San Ramon native steadily braved the inward nine’s all-too-typical conditions with eight consecutive pars. His 3-under par 67 leads the AmateurGolf.com Pacific Grove City Championship by a shot over playing partner
Nathan Wang.
The left-handed Wang, who will play for the University of California in the fall, bogeyed the closing par-4 to drop a shot behind Pang. Also making 5 at the 18th was third-place JJ West, who managed four birdies on the difficult back nine en route to his opening 69. Though two back in the Championship Flight, West paces the mid-amateur contingent by five over
Jerry Ledzinski and
Travis Rowney.
The Senior Division experienced the infamous peninsula fog as visibility suddenly diminished for longer tee shots. First-round leader
Daniel O’Connor was on the 12th tee box when the marine layer engulfed the challenging par-5. He would go on to make his third birdie of the day, finishing his round at even-par with a one-stroke advantage over
Jeff Weiss and
Charles Richesin, the latter of whom is atop the Super Senior leaderboard by one over
Craig Calkins.
John Barnes posted 70 and leads the Net Division one ahead of
Stephen Mort, whose costly double on 18 canceled out a net-eagle on 16.
ABOUT THE AGC Pacific Grove City
PAIRINGS |
RESULTS
New event (started in 2021) at the wonderful
Pacific
Grove
Golf
Links, known to many as "The Poor Man's
Pebble
Beach." That's because the back nine plays
right
along
the Pacific Ocean in an out-and-back links style
layout. If you haven't played this Monterey
Peninsula gem, entering this tournament with a
friend or relative is the perfect way to
experience
it. Field limit 88; Championship, Senior, Women, and
Net divisions.
MID-AM DIVISION
For players
age
25-
49. Compete alongside the younger players in
the
Championship Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least 10 Mid-
Ams, a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
SUPER SENIORS
For players age
65+. Compete alongside the younger players in
the
Senior Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded for
low
super senior.
View Complete Tournament Information