Round 2 Recap

The opening round of the Duke Open got off to a cold start.  Earlier this week the Piedmont of NC was in the 70s, but a cold front came through that dropped the temperatures more than 20 degrees.  As players were finishing their rounds on Saturday afternoon it was in the low 40s.

In the Girls division, Whitney Rhodes of Staunton, VA (2010) carded a round of even par to lead all scores.  Whitney had 16 pars on the day with 1 birdie and 1 bogey.  She began round two with a four stroke advantage over

Brighid Hourihan of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (2009).  Miss Rhodes led this division in pars with 24 for the event and carded a final round of 79 to earn her first FCWT win and an exemption to the National Championship.  Last season Miss Rhodes finished 9th at this event.

The Low Round honors went to Sara Jackson of Sound Beach, NY (2008) for her final round score of 1 over par 73 that moved her from tied for 10th to tied for 2nd.  She shared second place honors with Miss Hourihan.

Lawson wins after extra holes ~ 5 of them!

After a frost delay, the opening round of the Duke Open got underway.  Eighty-six players teed off with cold temperatures but motivated minds.

In the first round of  the Boys 16-18 division, Jeremy Wells of Prince George, VA (2009) carded a 73, one over par, to lead by one over

Spencer Lawson of Raleigh, NC (2010).  Wells, who finished 12th at French Creek in October, entered the final round looking to hold off Lawson, who won at Bermuda Run earlier this month with a final round of 69.  His plan did not work.  Lawson carded a second consecutive round of 74, while Wells struggled.  What Lawson may not have been prepared for was

Aaron Siekmann of Dublin, OH (2009) carding a final round of 73 to force a playoff with Lawson.  Five holes later after both players made par for 4 holes in a row, Lawson made birdie on the 5th playoff hole (# 1) to earn his second win of the season!  He joins Oscar Sharpe of England who also has earned two wins in the Boys 16-18 division this season.  Siekmann may not have won, but he certainly made a name for himself in his first FCWT event.

Bryce Chalkley of Chester, VA (2010) who began the day tied for third with Siekmann and Jack Cottrill of Charlotte, NC (2010) finished in 3rd place.  Chalkey led this division in birdies with 7 for the event.  Overnight leader Wells finished in 4th place.  Three players finished tied for 5th at 153 including Ben Kohles of Cary, NC (2008), who carded the only eagle of the event.  Also finishing tied for 5th were Jackson Taylor of Wilmington, NC (2008), who led this division in pars with 23, and Matt Buse of Cincinnati, OH (2008), who began the day tied for 8th at 77.  Low Round honors went to John Conners of Apex, NC (2009) for his round of even par 72 that moved him into 10th place after opening with a round of 84.

In the Boys 13-15 division, Nick Dennis of Waterford, MI (2011), who thought he was coming South to play golf, made himself at home with a 75 on Saturday and took the lead.  Nick led this division in pars with 12  on Saturday and had a one stroke advantage over John Callahan of Hinsdale, IL (2010) going into the final round.

On Sunday, Dennis and Callahan both finished with rounds of 79 allowing Dennis to take home the title with the one shot advantage he had attained on Saturday.  Callahan led this division in birdies with 5 on the weekend.  Stanhope Johnson of Greensboro, NC (2012) was one of two players to card the Low Round of 77 on Sunday.  For Johnson, it allowed him to finish in 3rd place.  The other Low Round recipient was

 Kyle Cooper of Grand Blanc, MI (2012).  Davis Womble of High Point, NC (2012) led in pars with 23 and finished 6th, 2 shots back of Jay Pinkos of Clifton, VA (2011) who finished 4th.