Battlefield Notes
- 14 year old Martin Trainer continued to receive rave reviews of his game as he wowed his way past SJ State star Justin Madison 3&2 in the first group of the day. Despite Madison’s impressive play, Trainer was even better. On the par 4 7th, Madison stuck his wedge approach within 3 feet, but Trainer holed his putt from barely on the green for a halve, but more importantly stopping Madison from tallying what looked like a sure win. That was the story of the day for this pair as they traded shot after shot.

Madison held a 1up lead after his eagle on 9 and some very solid play. However, 8 birdies against just 2 bogeys left Trainer 6 under after only 16 holes. Needless to say, Madison was impressed with the youngster’s poise and ability, despite shooting an impressive round himself.

As the Bramlett/Wilderotter match closed out ahead of him, Trainer seemed eager to take on medalist Bramlett in the Round of 16 next weekend. It figures to be one of the most anticipated match-ups of the entire tournament.

- Stanford bound Joseph Bramlett did not make it off the course as early as he did yesterday, but still managed to close out a 2&1 victory over Christopher Wilderotter of Oakland. The win sets up an intriguing match next Saturday against fellow high schooler Martin Trainer. The pair will have only a collective 32 years between them as they tee off in the 7:30am group.

- Matt Foley continued his impressively solid play with yet another 4&3 victory over Rob Frye. Foley did not need the final three holes of Harding Park during the first weekend of play.

- Randy Haag won his match 3&2 over San Jose’s Kent Yamane. He finished his solid round with a par and a halve on 16, sealing the victory.

- Cal fans will flock to watch Rick Reinsberg and Brandon Beck fight it out in the Round of 16, as both cruised to wins at Harding on Sunday. Unfortunately for Golden Bear supporters they will lose one of these competitors next week after former Cal star Reinsberg and current bear Beck knock heads.

- The final groups of the day produced some of the best emotional drama of the afternoon, as Kevin Kobalter outlasted Jim Evans in a 23 hole battle. The back nine see saw neither player take a large lead, with Kobalter himself down 1 heading to 18. He managed to send the match to extra holes after Evans flew his approach shot from the bunker into the trees.

Extra holes provided even more drama, as both players needed long putts to extend the match. Kobalter holed from about 15 feet on the par 4 2nd, and Evans kept the match alive with a long putt of his own just shortly thereafter. It was finally a par that won it for Kobalter on the 23rd hole of the day. He advances to take on confident Ryan Wilson of San Francisco. Wilson has had reason to be confident so far, avoiding having to play the 18th hole, finishing with consecutive 2&1 victories.

- Steve Wilson of Discovery Bay grinded out a 2&1 win over consistent Mike Wiechers of Granite Bay. Weichers needed to sink his 25 foot birdie putt on 17 to keep the match alive, but slid it just inches by, securing the win for Wilson. Wilson will now face former SMU star Stephen Sparolini.

- Stephen Sparolini advanced in a match that was close throughout against Cal Poly freshman Cory Powell. Powell held an early lead, but Sparolini regained control midway through the round. Powell, however, fought back to square the match after 16 holes. Unfortunately, he had a putt John Daly knows well, and slid his par putt on 17 just inches by the cup, forcing him into a must win situation on the difficult 18th. His drive split the fairway, while Sparolini faced a tough side hill bunker approach shot. Sparolini, however, impressed the sizeable gallery by blasting his way to the green. Powell had an opportunity to extend the match, but the long and winding 30 footer just missed, and the frustrated Powell was knocked out of the competition.

- Finally, Garrett Wagner might ask for some of his greens fees back, as he has yet to play the final holes at Harding Park this weekend. He backed up his impressive 6&5 victory yesterday with a 7&6 punishing of David Leuterio in the final pairing this afternoon. Wagner moves on to face Terry Foreman, who also had an easy time of it Saturday, but had a much more difficult match today, upsetting #6 seed Greg Wardle 3&2.

The final 16 promises to be quite exciting, with the top 3 seeds still alive, and so are several other competitors who are sure to provide quite an exciting 4 foursomes of golf next weekend.

RESULTS:

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