Four Tied After First Round of California Amateur

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 19, 2017) - Four players share the lead after the first round of the 106th California Amateur, played at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. But the leaderboard is deceiving. With half of the field playing the Ocean Course with a stroke average just under 74, and the other half playing the Lake Course averaging 78 shots, there really are two leaderboards in one. The top 27 scores in relation to par were shot on the Ocean Course, led by four players at four under par 67. Ben Corfee of El Macero was the first to post the number, going out in the first group and making eight birdies against four bogeys. Blake Abercrombie of Rocklin followed with a six birdie, two bogey round, as did < href="http://www.amateurgolf.com/Rankings/18472/Joshua-McCarthy">Josh McCarthy of Danville. Eddy Lai played in the second-to-last group and had a bogey free round with four birdies to create the four-way tie. Danny Ochoa of Carlsbad and P.J. Samiere of San Diego each had three under 68s to sit tied for fifth. On the Lake Course, it was a different tournament. No one broke or even matched par, as the course showed why it has so many times been chose as a U.S. Open venue. Daniel Connolly of San Francisco and David Laskin of Elk Grove tied for the low round on the Lake, each shooting a one-over 72. Eight players were one shot behind them at two-over 73. In all, 27 of the 36 rounds of 80 or higher were shot on the Lake Course. Tomorrow the field is flipped, with everyone switching courses. Only then will the leaderboard reflect the true order of players, with the field cut to 32 players for match play. In the simultaneously held North/South Challenge, which features six of the best of the SCGA taking on six of the NCGA’s best for the Roger Lapham Trophy, the SCGA leads after the first round, 352-357. The SCGA was led by Samiere’s 68 and a 70 by Spencer Soosman. The NCGA was paced by three 71’s—Noah Norton, Justin Suh and Jason Anthony.