The 2007 FCWT Boys 16-18 National Championship began at 7:30am on Saturday with a field of 180 boys representing 16 countries and 33 states and provinces. The youngest player in the field is 14 year old Ryan Simpson of Mechanicville, NY, who shot 74-72 to finish 2nd at Red Tail. Two other 14 year olds (Rak Cho, carded final rounds of 69 in both his events to finish T3, and Cyril Suk, who won the 13-15 title at Doral, are also playing). There are sixty-seven 17 year olds in the field, fifty-three 16-year olds, forty-one 18-year olds, twelve 15-year olds and four 19-year olds. Juniors make up the largest group with 78, followed by seniors with 49, sophomores with 31, freshman with 16 and 4 players who do not graduate until 2011.
ROUND ONE SUMMARY:
The Morning Wave of Round One put Jason Chun of Virginia Beach, VA, (2008) at the top of the leaderboard with a 2 under par 70. He was followed by Aaron Fitzpatrick of Windermere, FL (2009) who posted the only other sub-par round of the morning. Jackson Beindorf of Vero Beach, FL (2008) and Wilson Bowen of Winnetka, IL (2008) were in at even par 72 on a day when the wind played a definite factor. The Afternoon Wave brought Derek Ernst of Clovis, CA who won twice on the West Coast, in at -2 to join Chun. Ernst, who teed off around 12:24 pm, played a stellar round with 2 birdies on each side, despite the winds which increased throughout the day to about 15 to 20 mph. The round of the day was posted by sixteen year old Luke Benford from Hampshire, ENGLAND (2008), who must have felt right at home with these "sea breezes" because he fired a 4 under par (68) opening round on Saturday.
ROUND TWO:
Unfortunately some players who had stellar rounds on Saturday were "blown" away by the wind on Sunday. Benford was one of the wounded, after an opening round of 68, he posted a round of 80 on Sunday dropping him to +4 for the event. It could have been worse for Benford, as he will start the final round T3.
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The best news of the day came to Sean Dale of Jacksonville, FL (2008). Dale carded a one under par round on Sunday that has put him in the lead going into Monday's final round. Dale was named to the FCWT 2nd Team All-Americans on Friday night. He won this season at Champions Gate and finished 2nd at Grand Cypress. He will enter the final round with a 2 stroke advantage over Esteban Calisto Albornoz of Quito, ECUADOR (2007). Esteban moved up the leaderboard on Sunday with his round of -2 (70) after opening with a 77. Esteban has not won this season, but does have two second place finishes (Orange Lake in November and Doral in February). He also finished T10 at the DLGA/IMGA Championship in April.
Joining overnight leader Benford in a tie for 3rd place are: Connor Green of Selma, CA (2008), who opened with a 77 then carded a one under par 71 on Sunday, and Kyle Kopsick of Lake Bluff, IL (2008) did what few have been able to do in this event - put together 2 rounds in the 70s. Kyle's 74-74 sets him up for a run at the title on Monday. Also in a tie for 3rd are Dennis Carson of Burlingame, CA (2008) and Jackson Beindorf of Vero Beach, FL (2008). Six players will begin the final round in a tie for 8th place at 149: Paul Park of Wayne, NJ(2007), who was named a 1st team All-American, Connor Arendell of Cape Coral, FL (2008), who was named to the 2nd team All-American, Nicholas Mullhaupt of Bradenton, FL (2007), a 4th year player with 3 Top 10s this season and one who finished in the Top 20 at last season's National Championship; Carl McCauley of Parkland, FL (2008) who carded rounds of 75-74; Brandon Burke of Houston, TX (2008) who finished 2nd at Bear Creek in November; and James Field Jr. of Pinecrest, FL (2007), who finished T12 at last season's National Championship.
With the way the weather, namely the WIND, has been it is still a TBD event. If someone gets hot and goes Low on Monday the leaderboard could totally reconstruct itself. Stay tuned - it should be exciting!
James Erkenbeck of San Diego, CA (2008) made quite a comeback posting a round of 1 under par as well on Sunday afternoon, after opening with an 85. Ville Vaisenan of Porvoo, FINLAND (2007) made an even bigger improvement on Sunday going from 89 to 71. |
