Schneider fires 4 under par opening round; Uihlein on his heelsTemperatures at the Sea Island Junior Golf Classic were in the mid to high 50s with wind gusts of 10-15 miles an hour early this morning at the Plantation Course on Sea Island. By late morning to early afternoon the temperature rose to the mid 60s with winds still gusting. .jpg) The golf course was in spectacular condition, as always, for the opening round. Brad Schneider of Valrico, FL (2007) made the most of the day, though that wasn't certain at the start. After 3 consecutive pars, Brad made bogey on the 4th hole to put himself one over, but quickly came back with a birdie on the 5th hole and never bogeyed again. Instead, he went on to make 4 more birdies, including two on 17 and 18, to finish at 4 under par on Saturday. He leads Peter Uihlein of Bradenton, FL (2008) by 2 strokes entering Sunday's final round. Brad is looking for his first FCWT win after two T4 finishes so far this season. Peter, who won the only FCWT event he has played so far this season (Bermuda Run), carded a 2 under par round, with only one bogey, and will enter the final round with a 2 shot advantage over local players Bryant Hare of St. Simons Island, GA (2006) and Tal Everett of Sea Island, GA (2006). Hare tied Schneider for the most birdies with 5 on the day - the difference being Hare had as many bogeys. Everett carded 4 birdies, but a double bogey on 13 kept him from being tied with Peter for 2nd place. In a tie for 5th are Seth Reeves of Duluth, GA (2009), who is quickly making a name for himself on the FCWT and Maxwell Scodro of Chicago, IL (2008) who has really taken his game to the next level this season with two recent Top 10 finishes.
Don't count out Eric Shaw of Longwood, FL (2007), who will begin the final round in 7th place after an opening round of 75. What a great swing this young man has! Then there is a group tied for 8th at +4 76: Dylan Raines of Phoenix, AZ (2007), Bud Cauley of Jacksonville, FL (2008), Alan Fowler of Gainesville, GA (2007), Brent Whitehead of Marietta, GA (2008), Henry Zaytoun III of Raleigh, NC (2007), and Chris Piumelli of Vero Beach, FL (2007). Zach Lee of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (2007) carded the only eagle in this division on #18. In the Boys 13-15 division, Michael Cromie of Cary, NC (2010) and Matthew Schovee of Englewood, CO (2008) both carded opening rounds of 4 over par 76 on Saturday and will enter the final round as co-leaders of the Sea Island Junior Golf Classic. Michael has two wins already this season at Back Creek and Bermuda Run as well as a T2 at Sawgrass. Matthew has a 3rd and a 7th, but is chasing his first win of the season. Gregory Carrier of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (2009) will enter the final round in 3rd place, 1 stroke back of the leaders. In 4th place is James Tallent of Haverford, PA (2010), who carded a round of 78, one stroke back of Carrier. Shay Womack, Jr. of Marietta, GA (2008) will begin the final round in 5th after an opening round of 80. |
