Orlando, Fla. – Past champion Stanford Lee, 2009 co-medalist Patrick Tallent and Robin McCool carded 2-under-par 70s on Saturday to share the lead after the first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 2010 USGA Senior Amateur being contested at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club.
Lee, who captured the 2007 Senior Amateur at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., admitted to struggling in his two practice rounds, which led to surprising nerves as he entered the first of two qualifying rounds. His 70 on the 6,691-yard Tom Fazio layout turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the 58-year-old from Heber Springs, Ark.
I played so bad in the practice rounds that if you’d told me I was going to shoot 70, I would have said you’re an idiot, said Lee, a reinstated amateur. I’m tickled to death with it. That’s four or five better than I expected, actually.
Like Lee, the 57-year-old Tallent played a bogey-free round on a sun-splashed day in central Florida.
Tallent, one of two players in the morning wave to better par, registered two birdies and 16 pars.
Though the Vienna, Va., resident feels the course is a better fit for longer-hitting players, Tallent certainly put his own talents to good use.
I hit most of the greens early on, said Tallent, a veteran of 20-plus USGA championships. I got it up and down three times at the end of the round. [That] saved the round.
McCool, 59, of Bethlehem, Pa., also struggled during his pre-championship preparation at Lake Nona. But once the competition started, everything changed for the better, particularly on the greens.
I think my expectation level was a little bit lower because, quite frankly, I couldn’t make a putt in the practice round, said McCool. I made a lot of putts today.
Five golfers sit one stroke off the lead. Arthur Kania of Haverford, Pa., Dave Bates of Newburgh, Ind., Gary Daniels of Center Valley, Pa., Chip Lutz of Philadelphia, Pa., and Dick Satterfield of Cincinnati, Ohio, all carded 71s.
Another familiar name is two strokes back at even-par 72. Paul Simson, 59, of Raleigh, N.C., came into the championship off wins this year at the British Seniors Open Amateur Championship and Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. Last year, he shared medalist honors at the Senior Amateur with Tallent at Beverly Country Club in Chicago. Incidentally, Simson and Tallent are grouped together for the two rounds of stroke play this year.
He’s a good friend of mine and a great player, said Tallent of Simson, who helped North Carolina share second place at the USGA Men’s State Team Championship two weeks ago at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, Calif. I couldn’t have a better pairing than to play with him.
Joining Simson at even-par 72 are nine players, including 1997 USA Walker Cup Team member Duke Delcher of Bluffton, S.C., and 2009 Senior Amateur quarterfinalist William T. Doughtie of Amarillo, Texas.
Defending champion Marvin Vinny Giles of Richmond, Va., struggled through most of his round, though he closed with three birdies to finish at 4-over 76.
Stroke-play qualifying continues on Sunday, after which the low 64 scorers will advance to match play that begins on Monday. Match play continues through Thursday’s 18-hole championship match.
The USGA Senior Amateur, open to golfers 55 and over, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Christina Lance is the USGA’s coordinator of championship communications. E-mail her with questions or comments at clance@usga.org.
Orlando, Fla. -- Results from the first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 2010 USGA Senior Amateur being played at the 6,691-yard, par-72 Lake Nona Golf and Country Club:
Pat Tallent, Vienna, Va. - 36-34--70
Robin McCool, Bethlehem, Pa. - 34-36--70
Stanford Lee, Heber Springs, Ark. - 34-36--70
Arthur Kania, Haverford, Pa. - 36-35--71
Dave Bates, Newburgh, Ind. - 36-35--71
Gary Daniels, Center Valley, Pa. - 34-37--71
Chip Lutz, Philadelphia, Pa. - 36-35--71
Dick Satterfield, Cincinnati, Ohio - 37-34--71
Mike Puls, Irving, Texas - 34-38--72
Tom Knapp, Tequesta, Fla. - 35-37--72
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C. - 35-37--72
Duke Delcher, Bluffton, S.C. - 33-39--72
Tim Miller, Kokomo, Ind. - 36-36--72
William T. Doughtie, Amarillo, Texas - 35-37--72
Don Thames, Rancho Murieta, Calif. - 33-39--72
Jon Groveman, Larchmont, N.Y. - 35-37--72
Tom Phillips, Seattle, Wash. - 35-37--72
Rick Woulfe, Ft Lauderdale, Fla. - 34-38--72
Randy Nichols, Brookville, Ind. - 34-39--73
John Stewart, Birmingham, Ala. - 39-34--73
Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc, Mich. - 36-37--73
Stewart Alexander, Gainesville, Fla. - 35-38--73
Michael Kelly, Odenton, Md. - 34-39--73
Robert Allshouse, Greensburg, Pa. - 38-35--73
Corliss J. Nelson, Dallas, Texas - 36-37--73
Brad Larsen, Oceanside, Calif. - 38-35--73
George Marucci Jr, Villanova, Pa. - 34-39--73
Douglas Pool, Las Vegas, Nev. - 37-36--73
Jim Knoll, Sunnyvale, Calif. - 36-37--73
Curt Knorr, Atlanta, Ga. - 36-37--73
George J. Zahringer III, New York, N.Y. - 36-37--73
Skip Runnels, Richmond, Ind. - 35-38--73
Gary Palmer, Taunton, Mass. - 37-37--74
Steve Smyers, Lakeland, Fla. - 39-35--74
Jeff Burda, Modesto, Calif. - 37-37--74
Bill Zylstra, Plymouth, Mich. - 39-35--74
Sam Farlow, Birmingham, Ala. - 34-40--74
Donald Bliss, Chesterfield, Mo. - 37-37--74
Mike Booker, The Woodlands, Texas - 38-36--74
Frank Ford III, Charleston, S.C. - 38-36--74
Rich Gleghorn, Springfield, Mo. - 36-38--74
Raymond Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. - 36-38--74
Ted Pecora, Glencoe, Ill. - 34-40--74
Pete Willoughby, Houston, Texas - 36-38--74
Chuck Palmer, Dallas, Texas - 37-38--75
Gary Ramsden, Rancho Murieta, Calif. - 37-38--75
Bev Hargraves, Helena, Ark. - 39-36--75
Mikel Rollyson, Boca Grande, Fla. - 37-38--75
Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill. - 38-37--75
David Pocknall, Katy, Texas - 36-39--75
David Cannon, Salt Lake City, Utah - 40-35--75
Logan Jackson, Winston Salem, N.C. - 36-39--75
Mike Gravley, Greer, S.C. - 37-38--75
John Grace, Fort Worth, Texas - 38-37--75
Dan Bieber, Alamo, Calif. - 39-36--75
Don Erickson III, Dubois, Pa. - 40-35--75
Berger Warner, Ocala, Fla. - 38-37--75
Terry Werner, Dyer, Ind. - 38-37--75
Keith Keister, Orlando, Fla. - 38-37--75
Larry Clark, Kingston, Ga. - 38-37--75
David Williamson, Ladoga, Ind. - 34-41--75
Randy Reifers, Columbus, Ohio - 39-36--75
Kim Mansfield, High Point, N.C. - 37-39--76
Bill Caveness, Dallas, Texas - 38-38--76
Richard Jonson, Seattle, Wash. - 40-36--76
Thomas Nesbitt, Nashville, Tenn. - 37-39--76
Scott Radcliffe, Golden, Colo. - 38-38--76
Richard Pfeil, Naples, Fla. - 38-38--76
Greg Olson, Weaverville, Calif. - 38-38--76
John Pallin, Kenosha, Wis. - 41-35--76
David Anthony, Jacksonville, Fla. - 38-38--76
Craig Scott, Marshalls Creek, Pa. - 37-39--76
Jack Kearney, Peachtree City, Ga. - 40-36--76
Andrew Congdon, Great Barrington, Mass. - 38-38--76
Frank Merhar, La Jolla, Calif. - 36-40--76
Gary Kirwan, Mckinney, Texas - 37-39--76
Marvin Giles, Juno Beach, Fla. - 37-39--76
James Lyons, Shreveport, La. - 39-38--77
Jim Henderson, Hattiesburg, Miss. - 38-39--77
Chris Maletis, Portland, Ore. - 37-40--77
Bruce Scamehorn, Winter Haven, Fla. - 37-40--77
Glenn Mullian, Richmond, Va. - 39-38--77
Robert Shelton, Lafayette, La. - 41-36--77
Kary Kaltenbacher, Englewood, Colo. - 37-40--77
Jerry Maras, Garden Grove, Calif. - 37-40--77
John Casstevens, Glen Allen, Va. - 41-36--77
Neil Spitalny, Chattanooga, Tenn. - 40-37--77
James Curell, Boone, Iowa - 38-39--77
Steven Whittaker, Becker, Minn. - 41-37--78
David Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. - 36-42--78
Thomas Olson, Omaha, Neb. - 40-38--78
Charles Jones, Collegeville, Pa. - 40-38--78
Randy Garber, St Paul, Minn. - 39-39--78
Bill Barnes, Carmel, Ind. - 40-38--78
William Boockford, Glen Ellyn, Ill. - 38-40--78
Stephen Bell, Denver, Colo. - 38-40--78
Bill Probst, Midway, Utah - 39-39--78
Rick Luzar, Pinehurst, N.C. - 41-37--78
Robert Schneider, Santa Fe, N.M. - 39-39--78
David Farnam, Kent, Wash. - 40-38--78
David Jacobsen, Portland, Ore. - 39-39--78
Jeff Rudi, Tucson, Ariz. - 39-39--78
Lou Paolucci, Palm Coast, Fla. - 39-39--78
Doug Potter, Coeur D Alene, Idaho - 37-41--78
Bill Palmer, Bluffton, S.C. - 39-40--79
James Harless, Aurora, Ohio - 38-41--79
James Peebles, Fort Worth, Texas - 39-40--79
Lynn Martin, Findlay, Ohio - 39-40--79
Carter Fasick, Milford, Mass. - 40-39--79
Michael Walters, Tampa, Fla. - 38-41--79
Stephen Yavorsky, San Clemente, Calif. - 41-38--79
Terry Willis, Greenville, S.C. - 38-41--79
Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, Calif. - 41-38--79
Brian Tell, Edina, Minn. - 40-39--79
Edward Shaffran, Ann Arbor, Mich. - 40-39--79
Robert Kulp, Advance, N.C. - 40-40--80
John Lindholm, Grand Blanc, Mich. - 39-41--80
Yang Chung, Fullerton, Calif. - 39-41--80
Bryan Winnett, Ennis, Texas - 38-42--80
Timothy Hultquist, Vero Beach, Fla. - 43-37--80
Mike Rice, Houston, Texas - 38-42--80
Dan Smith, Fairfield, Ohio - 40-40--80
David Potthast, Prescott, Ariz. - 43-37--80
Mike Bell, Indianapolis, Ind. - 39-41--80
Ron Garland, Bozeman, Mont. - 37-43--80
Christopher Veitch, Newport Beach, Calif. - 42-39--81
Doug Harris, Franklin, Tenn. - 42-39--81
Oscar Taylor, Hot Springs Village, Ark. - 37-44--81
Chuck Ingram, Shepherdstown, W.Va. - 38-43--81
Richard Hunt, Bixby, Okla. - 42-39--81
Daniel Cook, The Woodlands, Texas - 38-43--81
Phillip Anamizu, Honolulu, Hawaii - 39-42--81
Doug Tambara, Huntington Beach, Calif. - 38-43--81
Rick Alspaugh, Winston Salem, N.C. - 37-44--81
Jim Brown, Tellico Village, Tenn. - 43-39--82
G. Munroe Cobey, Chapel Hill, N.C. - 40-42--82
William Downing, Akron, Ohio - 41-41--82
Jerry Blake, Lansing, Mich. - 43-39--82
Philip Austin, Arlington, Texas - 42-40--82
John Ervasti, Brooklyn, N.Y. - 44-38--82
Nelson Debow, Kinnelon, N.J. - 42-40--82
Paul Couture, Grafton, Mass. - 40-42--82
Larry Walsh, Mountain City, Texas - 43-39--82
Jim Wise, Columbia, S.C. - 40-42--82
David Brown, Terre Haute, Ind. - 42-41--83
John Davis, Atlanta, Ga. - 42-41--83
Tom Graham, Fairfield, Conn. - 45-39--84
Bill McDonald, Troy, Mich. - 43-41--84
Randy Blackman, Glendora, Calif. - 48-37--85
John Walker, Tulsa, Okla. - 43-42--85
Michael Quinn, East Fallowfield, Pa. - 42-45--87
Mike Herrington, Sierra City, Calif. - 45-44--89
Bill Tyner, Enterprise, Ala. - 44-45--89
David Hatch, Oviedo, Fla. - 45-44--89
Ric Pruitt, Quincy, Ill. - 47-46--93
Tom Gorton, Durango, Colo. - 53-42--95