Round 2 Recap (PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course)

Itterman battles the wind but comes out a winner!

Fifteen year old Ben Itterman of Carlsbad, CA (2010) fired a bogey-free round of four under par on Saturday to open the PGA West Classic.  At one point during his round Itterman got on a roll making 4 birdies in a row on holes 8 through 11.  On Sunday, Ben, and the rest of the field, faced new conditions.  Not only did the players move from the Stadium Course to the Nicklaus Course, the weather changed dramatically.  On Saturday it was cloudy and not typical of desert golf weather.  But on Sunday the wind was brutal making every shot a challenge.  The winter storm that pounded the West Coast sent pounding winds to the PGA West Golf Courses, but the players battled it out.  So while Ben struggled, he had built himself a veritable fortress with his opening round, that even these winds could not tear down.  His final round of 77, still allowed him a two shot victory - his second of the season.

  Fifteen year old Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, CA (2010), who won the Mission Hills Open in December, and seventeen year old Kevin Penner of Sammamish, WA (2009), a 3rd year FCWT player both carded final rounds of 76 and finished tied for 2nd, just as they had started the day.

Brandon Hagy of Westlake Village, CA (2009), who carded the only eagle in this division on Saturday, moved from 7th to tied for 4th with

Eli Cole of Beverly Hills, CA (2008), who led this division in birdies on Saturday with 6.  Joe Rosenthal of Malibu, CA (2009) created "magic" where there was none to be found and fired a one under par round of 71 on Sunday to earn the Low Round honors and finish in 6th place.  Just think what he could have scored if conditions had been more favorable!

Tad Murray of La Quinta, CA (2010) finished in 7th place at 151 while Justin Estrada of Yuba City, CA (2011) finished in 8th place in his first FCWT event.  Four players finished tied for 9th: 15 year old Daniel Lee of Valencia, CA (2011), Jordan Epstein of Carlsbad, CA (2009), Yoon Ko of Indio, CA (2009), and Jack Pennington of Eugene, OR (2009).

In the Boys 13-15 division, Michael Kim of Del Mar, CA (2011), fired a 3 under par 69 on Saturday to take the first round lead.  Kim, who is playing in his first FCWT event, had 13 pars and 4 birdies for his round.  He earned his victory on Sunday despite a charge from Tucker Wadkins of Dallas, TX (2011), who moved from 3rd to 2nd place on Sunday.  Brian Alle of Pacific Palisades, CA (2011) finished in 3rd place while Macgregor Hoobery of Santa Maria, CA (2011) carded the Low Round of 74 to finish tied for 4th with Mike Moorhead of Newport Beach, CA (2012).

In the Boys 11-12 division, Ben Doyle of San Diego, CA (2014) posted two rounds of 73 to add another win to his resume.  Doyle, who won the Mission Hills Open in December, was one of the only players who seemed to be unaffected by the difficult conditions.  Gavin deFisser of Gilbert, AZ (2015) maintained his 2nd place standing while Ian Mankoff of Lake Forest, IL (2013) moved into a tie for 3rd with Christopher Petefish of Danville, CA (2014).  Pukhraj Gil of Houston, TX, finished in 5th place and brave young 8 year old Garrett deFisser of Gilbert, AZ (2017) demonstrated a lot of fortitude and carded 3 pars on Sunday under these immensely difficult conditions.

Senior Kaitlin Drolson of Rancho Santa Fe, CA, fired an opening round of 1 under par to lead the Girls division of the PGA West Classic.  Miss Drolson, a 4th year FCWT player, carded 7 birdies on Saturday to lead this division.  Round One saw mostly to partly cloudy skies but the weather changed dramatically overnight to very windy conditions.  As a Winter Storm pounded the West Coast winds of 45 mph blew through the desert golf course on Sunday making the conditions challenging at best.  The players had the additional challenge of moving from the Stadium Course to the Nicklaus Course on Sunday.  Miss Drolson weathered the storm and even made an eagle on the par 5, 11th hole on her way to her first FCWT win!

Fifteen year old Nicole Zhang of Calgary, AB, CANADA (2010), who won the Mission Hills Open in December, and 15 year old Mackinzie Kline of Encinitas, CA (2010) who opened with a round of 74, shared the 2nd place honors.  Miss Zhang led this division in pars with 27.  Jackie Chang of Paradise Valley, AZ (2010) finished in 4th place, followed by local player Taylor Doyle of San Diego, CA (2008), who finished 5th at 162.