N. Calif. Match Play: Cody Blick leads

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 12, 2013) – After the morning wave of the first round of the 110th Annual NCGA Amateur Match Play Championship Cody Blick holds a one-shot lead. Blick, 19, fired a five-under-par 67 on Monday, which included seven birdies and a pair of bogeys on the day. Starting off his round with a bogey early on No. 2, the sophomore-to-be at San Jose State would birdie Nos. 4 and 7 to make the turn with a 35. Then things heated up on the back nine as he made five birdies in a six-hole stretch. After not converting birdies on two of the more benign holes Spyglass has to offer (Nos. 10 and 11), Blick reeled off four consecutive birdies on Nos. 12-15. A bogey on No. 16 derailed him briefly, but the Danville native recovered nicely birdieing No. 17 to come in with a 32. “On No. 11 I missed a short birdie putt and that really just kind of got me angry, so the next hole I stuffed it and that led to four birdies in a row,” he said. Blick, who made it to the quarterfinals of his first California State Amateur Championship earlier this summer, is again off to a superb start in his NCGA Amateur Match Play debut. Having only played Spyglass Hill GC twice before going into the day’s round, the 19-year-old was able to take advantage of solid ball-striking, which included hitting 15 of 18 greens in regulation. “I think that’s the key out here is ball-striking; leaving yourself in the right spot,” said Blick. Not far behind Blick and currently in second place at four-under-par 68 is another 19-year-old, Jonathan De Los Reyes. The Antioch native made five birdies and one bogey in his round getting off to a very nice start. The rising sophomore at St. Mary’s College opened with birdies on Nos. 2, 6 and 7 to make the turn at 33. Birdies followed on both of the back-nine par-5s, Nos. 11 and 14, to get to five-under-par, but a dropped shot on No. 18, his only bogey of the day, gave him a 68. Currently tied for third at two-under-par 70 are Matt Hansen and Connor Lawrence.