California Senior Amateur: Mark Nickeas extends his lead

VENTURA, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2011) -- Mark Nickeas of Lake Sherwood extended his first-round lead to six strokes after the second round of the California Golf Association’s State Senior Championship at Ventura’s Saticoy CC. Nickeas carded a a two-over 74 that left him one under for the championship. The only Saticoy member in the field, the leader is clearly comfortable on a course where he has seven club championships and currently holds the club’s match play, stroke play and senior club titles. Nickeas’ opening 69 where the average score for the event is north of 80 is impressive. But a giant among senior golfers in California lurks behind the leader, and will be paired with him in tomorrow’s final round – Modesto’s Jeff Burda, seeking his fourth straight State Senior crown. Burda moved up the leader board in the second round to the second position after posting a one-over 73. John Hoffman of San Diego is third, after carding the second best round of the championship in the second round, a two-under 70. The team competition, featuring four pre-selected golfers from each association’s points list, was captured by the NCGA team of Burda, Senior Player of the Year Jim Knoll, Casey Boyns and Mark Miller. After the conclusion of play, there was a cut to the players with the low 33 scores plus ties for Wednesday’s final round. The cut came at +15 159 (a high score reflecting the difficulty of the course), with 34 players earning a spot in the final round.