STEVINSON, Calif. (May 5, 2012) -- The final three holes at Stevinson Ranch are sometimes referred to as "The Gauntlet" and Randy Haag's play on the first of those three holes, No. 16, can only be called an adventure.
"I should have made 9 there," joked Haag via text message.
Hitting into the day's strongest winds on the 230-yard par 3, Haag's ball was pushed right and the wind hoisted it over the water hazard that makes this tee shot the course's hardest.
Many players would have cut their losses and re-teed. Not Haag. He found his ball in the trees right of the hazard, launched a wedge into the wind, hit the green and made three.
The 17th (his last hole of the first day's shotgun start) wasn't as kind despite the day's longest drive (again right into the wind) that left him at the 150 marker. On this day, that turned an 8 or 9-iron shot into a 4 iron, which Haag hit over the green.
Haag, 53, is the two-time defending low amateur in the British Senior Open. He will start the final round 3 shots in front of Matt Cohn (also of San Francisco). A host of players are at 77 and 78. They will have to work hard to catch Haag, who captured the tournament last year and lost in a playoff in 2010.
Jim Knoll of Sunnyvale posted 74 to lead the Senior Division by three strokes, over Pebble Beach Caddie and two-time State Amateur champ Casey Boyns (77). The affable Terry Foreman of Antioch, making his senior debut, is within striking distance, another shot back at 78.
Scott Carelli and Korsen Yu (79, 80) are at the top of the Net Division leaderboard.
To view complete scores and pairings for Sunday, please click on the links below or the tournament name at the top of the story.
Haag leads AGC California Mid-Am
Defending Champ Randy Haag of The Olympic Club is the only player to post par in windy conditions at Stevinson Ranch