“Front nine played pretty solid, two birdies and a bogey,” said Eckroat, who has been on fire as of late, helping the Cowboys win the 2018 NCAA Championship in May, and finishing runner-up in the Oklahoma State Amateur last week, just behind childhood friend and college teammate Hayden Wood.
“After that, I really played well on the back nine. I only made one putt that was a shock, a long putt on the back nine but other than that everything else was solid. Made 15-footers and played really well.”
“I had no idea,” said Gordon.
Eckroat added, “We were walking up to the green and we didn’t see a third ball. He (Gordon) asked ‘Did I hit it over?’ and I was like ‘I think you made it.’ Then I saw it in the cup and we kind of celebrated together.”
Gordon is currently in a T-3 with five other golfers, including another member of the very well represented Oklahoma State team, Hayden Wood. Wood, the recent Oklahoma State Amateur champion posted a 4-under-par 67. A third Oklahoma State player, Matthew Wolff, managed a 68 and sits three back.
Finishing a shot back of the leader on Wednesday was University of Houston golfer Emmet Oh. Oh finished his afternoon hot, making birdies on his final three holes.
“There aren’t many places better than this on Earth,” explained the 2017 PNGA Amateur Champion of the Willie Watson-designed golf course. “I’m really happy to be playing here this week… You hear stories about this place and everything really lives up to the hype.”
Oh plays for Alberta Golf in the team portion of the event, named the Morse Cup after Samuel F. B. Morse, founder and developer of Pebble Beach Company and Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Alberta Golf currently leads the Morse Cup at 5-under, a stroke better than Washington State Golf Association. Both teams are followed by the Southern California Golf Association at 2-under-par.
Players will begin play once again tomorrow at 7:30 AM PT, with the final pairing leaving the first tee at 12:20.