For the last three nights, Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., has had dinner with good friend Logan Jackson of Winston-Salem, N.C. The two compete against each other frequently in state and regional competitions in the Carolinas.
Now they will have to face each other in the second round of the 2010 USGA Senior Amateur on Tuesday. Simson eliminated Curt Knorr of Atlanta, 6 and 5, while Jackson defeated another fellow North Carolinian Kim Mansfield of High Point, 4 and 3.
"You just have to isolate that," said Simson of putting aside the friendship for a few hours. "It’s just a match. He realizes that, I realize that. You just play as hard as you can. I don’t particularly care for playing people I know. I don’t like to play people I know because one of us will be going home tomorrow. That’s always a sad time." -- David Shefter