Lined up for the lead
Joon Kim of Italy leads players from down the street and around the worldThe day started with a light frost at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in
Ponte Vedra, FL resulting in a one hour delay. Once play began, players were not only challenged by the fierce design of the Pete Dye Championship course, but also had to deal with temperatures that plummeted into the 40's with the wind chill during the day. As the day progressed, the sun broke through, yet windy conditions prevailed. Joon Kim of Treviso, ITALY (2007), was in with the early lead at the TPC Sawgrass Invitational. Kim, who finished T3 at the FCWT/GOLFWEEK Holiday Invitational, fired a 2 under par 70 with only a double bogey on the Stadium signature hole, #17, a 132-yard, par 3, which is one of the most well-known island greens in golf. Kim finished one stroke ahead of Bud Cauley of Jacksonville, FL (2008). Cauley, who won the University of Florida event last month, carded the only other sub-par round on Saturday with a -1. Cauley, currently ranked #35 by the Golfweek/Titleist rankings, leads Conrad Shindler of Coppell, TX, and Jhared Hack by 1 stroke. Shindler, an FCWT 04-05 1st Team All-American, carded a solid round of even par and tied Sam Saunders, last year's winner, and Shaun O'Meara for most birdies with 5. Hack, who is currently ranked # 34 by Golfweek/Titleist rankings, already has one FCWT win this year at Grand Cypress. Gregor Slabe of Ljubljana, SLOVENIA, 2007, who has been on a roll after finishing 1st at Tiburon and 2nd at Amelia (and ranked #44 in Golfweek/ Titleist) is just one stroke back of Shindler. In at +2 were two Central region players and a Floridian. Seniors Adam Long of St. Charles, MO, and Kyle Thomas of Fishers, IN, are both looking for their third top 5 finish of the season. Chris Mullhaupt of Bradenton (2007), finished 2nd at Naples a few weeks ago. Five players came in at 75: Max Griel of Rome, ITALY (2007), who tied with Joon Kim and Bud Cauley for most pars on the day with 13; Sam Saunders of Windermere, FL (2006), who won at Champions Gate and is currently ranked #7 in the Golfweek/Titleist rankings; Neil Horsley of Cooper City, FL (2007); Tommy Mou of Bradenton, FL (2009), who finished 2nd to Saunders at Champions Gate; and FCWT veteran Raj Nahal of Longwood, FL (2006), who finished T18 here last year. |
