Nick Ushijima and Terrence Miskell, who tied for the opening round lead with identical scores of 71, both shot 73 on Friday to remain deadlocked at even-par 144 on the tough Preserve Golf Club in the hills south of Carmel Valley.
Paul Simson of Raleigh, North Carolina shot the low round of the day, a 1-under-par 71, to move up to solo second place at 145, one shot back.
Tripp Davis (74), Phil Huff (75), Jeff Wilson (75) and Kenny Weixel (74) are tied for fourth at 147.
Ushijima, a former Stockton resident, flew in from Japan just for the Stocker Cup and will fly back on Sunday night. Miskell, who grew up in Salinas, moved to Texas while he pursued a career in pro golf. Both credit their knowledge of bent and poa annua greens for their success.
“Now that I’ve lived in Texas for awhile I’m trying to read grain in these greens, which is stupid,” Miskell said. “The greens around here are mostly poa, and there is no grain. I guess I kept my feel for them.”
Ushijima, who moved to Japan a year ago, came back from a rough start. He bogeyed the third and fourth holes, and doubled the sixth.
“It wasn’t pretty starting out,” he said. “But I had four birds coming in after that, so I’m happy. These greens are tough, but I have something of a feel for them.”
Ushijima is also happy with his partner, Jay Reynolds of Oakland, who carried him through his rough patch in the team competition. The Ushijima-Reynolds team shot a 63 for a 125 total, good for a six-shot lead. The team competition ends Saturday, with the top amateurs competing for the cup on Sunday in a format similar to the old Crosby at Pebble Beach.
Defending champion Craig Doell of Canada (79-72) summed up the problems most of the field is having with these greens.
“I had 39 putts yesterday and 33 today,” he said. “These greens are very fast, much faster than last year. If you get on the wrong side of the hole, you can be putting for awhile.”
Stocker Notes:
George Kelley, the 55-year-old MC of the pairing party who shot a remarkable
72 in the first round, threw his back out on the range warming up and almost
withdrew. “A doctor gave me some medicine that had me dizzy for awhile,
but at least I could play,” Kelley said. He shot 42 on the front and 37
on the back for a 79 … Simson holds the mantel now for the over 50 set,
in third place … Tom Lehman’s brother, Jim, shot 76-78 … Phil
Huff and Keith Anderson are tied with Simson and John Rodenburg for second place
in the team competition … Six players were tied for third after the first
round at 72, none of the six shot better than 75 on Friday.
Ron Salsig can be reached at rsalsig@pacbell.net
| Pos | Player | Club | Scores |
| T1 | Nick Ushijima | Olympic Club | 71-73--144 |
| T1 | Terrence Miskell | Dos Rios Golf Club | 71-73--144 |
| 3 | Paul Simson | North Ridge Country Club | 74-71--145 |
| T4 | Jeff Wilson | Green Valley Country Club | 72-75--147 |
| T4 | Phil Huff | Olympic Club | 72-75--147 |
| T4 | Kenny Weixel | New Albany Country Club | 73-74--147 |
| T4 | Tripp Davis | Belmar Golf Club | 73-74--147 |
| T8 | Dave Nelson | Montreux Golf and Country Club | 75-73--148 |
| T8 | Chip Lutz | Pine Valley | 72-76--148 |
| T10 | Scott Crawshaw | Brookside Golf Club | 75-74--149 |
| T10 | Steve Nichols | Walnut Hills Country Club | 73-76--149 |
| T10 | Alex Stamey | Olympic Club | 74-75--149 |
| T10 | Chris Carlson | Highlands Ranch | 72-77--149 |
| T14 | Joe Sanders | Incline Village Golf Club | 72-78--150 |
| T14 | Mike Goodes | Pennrose Park Country Club | 75-75--150 |
| T16 | Craig Doell | Victoria Golf Club | 79-72--151 |
| T16 | Bob Niger | Serrano Country Club | 78-73--151 |
| T16 | George Kelley | Stevinson Ranch | 72-79--151 |
| T19 | Joe Hillman | Wolf Run Golf Club | 77-75--152 |
| T19 | Gene Elliott | Glen Oaks Country Club | 76-76--152 |
| T19 | Bowen Osborn | Windsong Farms | 77-75--152 |
| T19 | Keith Kinsel | Oakmont Country Club | 77-75--152 |
| T19 | Jimmy Bryan | Latrobe Country Club | 80-72--152 |
| T19 | John Balfanz | Stockdale Country Club | 80-72--152 |
| John Pate | The Valley Club | 78-75--153 | |
| Mike Kelley | New Albany Country Club | 79-74--153 | |
| Dave Rathjen | The Golf Club | 74-79--153 | |
| Gary Young | Scratch Players | 79-75--154 | |
| Jim Lehman | Windsong Farm Golf Club | 76-78--154 | |
| Mark Gardner | Redlands Country Club | 78-77--155 | |
| Brad Wilder | Triple Crown Country Club | 75-80--155 | |
| Steve John | Tehama Golf Club | 78-77--155 | |
| Jerry Ledzinski | Quail Lodge | 74-82--156 | |
| Mike Rowley | San Luis Obispo Country Club | 78-78--156 | |
| Dave Capel | Stevinson Ranch Golf Club | 77-79--156 | |
| Greg Lopez | Dove Canyon Country Club | 78-79--157 | |
| Graham Banister | Wildwood Green Golf Club | 80-77--157 | |
| Garrett Larson | UC Golf Club | 78-80--158 | |
| Mark Maguire | Claremont Country Club | 77-81--158 | |
| John Benson | Totteridge Golf Club | 84-74--158 | |
| Todd Barsotti | San Joaquin Country Club | 81-78--159 | |
| Jerry Maatman | Chicago Golf Club | 84-75--159 | |
| Brian Thibault | Cinnibar Hills Golf Club | 84-75--159 | |
| Trent Tessler | Scratch Players Golf Club | 85-75--160 | |
| Matt Foley | Los Altos Golf and Country Club | 83-77--160 | |
| Will Johnson | North Ridge Country Club | 85-76--161 | |
| Rob Martin | Rancho Murieta Country Club | 80-82--162 | |
| Sal Felice | San Juan Oaks Mission Golf Club | 83-80--163 | |
| Kevin Todey | Saticoy Country Club | 79-85--164 | |
| Stan Lent | The Preserve Golf Club | 81-85--166 | |
| Pat Mateer | Spyglass Hill | 88-78--166 | |
| Patrick Pernice | Amateurgolf.com | 86-85--171 |
TEAM COMPETITION (Top 10 and ties shown)
| Pos | Team | Score |
| 1 | Nick Ushijima, Olympic Club, Jon Reynolds, Claremont Country Club, 62-63 | 125 |
| T2 | Phil Huff, Olympic Club, Keith Anderson, Claremont Country Club, 64-67 | 131 |
| T2 | Paul Simson, North Ridge Country Club, John Rodenburg, Rumson Country Club, 67-64 | 131 |
| T4 | Greg Lopez, Dove Canyon Country Club, Mike Michalski, Meadow Club, 67-66 | 133 |
| T4 | Tripp Davis, Belmar Golf Club, John Bottomley, The Preserve Golf Club, 65-68 | 133 |
| T4 | John Benson, Totteridge Golf Club, Matt Tunney, Olympic Club, 71-62 | 133 |
| T7 | Kenny Weixel, New Albany Country Club, Kelly Erardi, Monterey Peninsula C.C. | 134 |
| T7 | Joe Sanders, Incline Village Golf Club, Mike Flynn, OlympicClub, 64-70 | 134 |
| T9 | Alex Stamey, Olympic Club, Mike Klassen, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, 65-69 | 136 |
| T9 | Joe Hillman, Wolf Run Golf Club, Ken Hopper, San Joaquin Country Club, 68-68 | 136 |
| T9 | Trent Tessler, Scratch Players Golf Club, Robby Robinson, Hiwan Gold Club, 70-66 | 136 |
| T9 | Rob Martin, Rancho Murieta Country Club, Bill Chatham, North Ridge Country Club, | 136 |
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