Menante extends lead at Northeast Amateur
Dylan Menante (Northeast Amateur photo)
There's something about the Wannamoisett Country Club that suits
Dylan Menante's eye.
After opening his title defense with a 7-under 62 on Wednesday, Menante followed with a second-round 64 and at 12-under 126 for the tournament, holds a six-shot lead over
Kelly Chinn, who sits at 6-under after carding his consecutive round of 66.
Menante made just one birdie on his outward nine but made four birdies on his first six holes to start the back en route to a 5-under 64 on the par-69, 6,807-yard Wannamoisett layout.
“The biggest challenge today was with my irons,” said Menante. “Yesterday, I didn’t miss a shot. I was striping it. Coming into the round I was thinking I wasn’t going to have to worry about my ball striking but I struggled early. My driver was off today but when I found the fairway, I had to be aggressive.
“I had no rhythm whatsoever on the front nine,” said Menante, who recently transferred from Pepperdine to the University of North Carolina. “I only hit four greens in regulation on my first nine and had to rely on my short game. I found my rhythm once I made the turn. The back nine here is much more comfortable for me because I can send a driver pretty much anywhere and still have a wedge.”
Just how dominant has Menante been on this Donald Ross classic in Rumford, R.I.?
Not only is his 12-under score a 36-hole scoring record at the Northeast Amateur, now in its 60th year, Menante hasn't made a bogey in his last 61 holes at Wannamoisett dating back to last year's third round when he won the event with a 9-under score 267. He kept his bogey-less streak intact on Thursday when he drained a 20-foot par put on the 18th to polish off a 5-under round of 64.
“We are only halfway home,” said Menante. “The 36-hole scoring record is nice but it’s not what I came here to do.”
Tennessee-bound
Caleb Surrat is seven back at 5-under while
Carson Lundell, who plays collegiately at BYU, hit all 18 greens in regulation in the second round en route to shooting a 4-under 65 to move into fourth place at 4-under.
NCAA champion
Gordon Sargent, who opened with a 65, slipped back into a tie for fifth place following a two-over round of 71 on Thursday.
Dalton Balthaser of the Northeast Amateur contributed to this report
ABOUT THE Northeast Amateur
The Northeast Amateur has a historic list of winners,
including Ben Crenshaw, Dustin Johnson, Collin
Morikawa, Luke
Donald,
Scott Hoch, John Cook, Hal Sutton, and David Duval.
It
has been annually held at the Donald Ross-designed
Wannamoisett Country Club since 1962. The event
is
limited to 90 elite players; there is a cut after 54
holes
and the entire tournament is played in twosomes.
View Complete Tournament Information