Manakin-Sabot, Va. – Mark Bemowski is no stranger to success at the USGA Senior Amateur Championship. And at age 65, he’s playing better than ever.
The 2004 Senior Amateur champion opened with three birdies on his first five holes en route to carding the day’s only round in the 60s – a 4-under 68 at the 6,829-yard, par-72 Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va.
After Saturday’s first round of stroke-play qualifying, Bemowski, of Mukwonago, Wis., leads by two strokes over a quartet of golfers: Paul Murphy, 60, of Arlington, Mass.; Rick Woulfe, 61, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and a pair of Pennsylvanians, Chip Lutz, 56, of Reading, and Raymond Thompson, 59, of Drexel Hill.
It’s great to start out with a good round, said Bemowski. I struck the ball really well today. Hopefully that’s a sign of more good things to come.
Though Bemowski was pleased with his start, he acknowledged that shooting a low qualifying score doesn’t necessarily translate into a championship title.
It really doesn’t mean a thing until you get into match play. But it’s nice to have a little momentum and feel like you’re playing pretty well. If I keep playing like I am now, I’ll be very competitive.
In addition to winning the 2004 Senior Amateur, Bemowski finished runner-up in 2002 and 2005 and was a semifinalist in 2009.
Lutz, who advanced to the semifinals of the 2010 championship, is looking to continue his phenomenal summer of 2011. After winning the Canadian Men's Senior Championship and the British Seniors Open Amateur Championship earlier this season, he comes to Kinloch attempting to equal the feat of Paul Simson, who won both those championships as well as the USGA Senior Amateur in 2010.
Lutz played a steady round, making just one bogey in his pursuit of the Senior Amateur title in his home country. After an even-par outward nine, Lutz birdied both par-5s coming in to post a 2-under 70.
The course was very soft – balls were backing up with the driver – but the greens were still very fast, so sometimes you become tentative, said Lutz. Starting out I hit the ball past the hole a few times but was able to navigate some tricky comeback putts. I can only imagine when these things dry out, they’ll be another foot or two faster which could make things really interesting.
That the course was even playable on Saturday is a testament to the hard work and preparation by Golf Course Manager Peter Wendt and his staff at Kinloch.
The Richmond region absorbed more than 6 inches of rain between Tuesday and Thursday from Tropical Storm Lee, in addition to the more-than 5 inches that fell from Hurricane Irene the previous week. The 11-plus inches of rain that has soaked the Richmond area is nearly three times the average rainfall for the area for the entire month of September (3.98 inches, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Defending champion Simson, 60, of Raleigh, N.C., made two birdies and one bogey in an unspectacular, but solid 1-under 71. Simson is trying to become the first player to successfully defend his title since William C. Campbell in 1980.
In addition to Bemowski and Simson, there were seven other former Senior Amateur champions in the field: Mike Rice (2005 winner, 73), George Buddy Marucci (2008 winner, 73), Mike Bell (2006 winner, 75), Marvin Vinny Giles III (2009 winner, 75), Stan Lee (2007 winner, 77), Greg Reynolds (2002 winner, 78) and Kemp Richardson (2001 and 2003 winner, 80).
Former USGA president and current chairman of The Masters Competition Committee, Fred Ridley, shot an even-par 72 on Saturday. It was Ridley’s first USGA championship since 1988. His lone USGA title, the 1975 U.S. Amateur, came just six miles up the road from Kinloch at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond.
Cy Kilgore, 58, of Beverly, Mass., recorded a hole-in-one on the 185-yard, par-3 5th using a 3-hybrid. It is believed to be the 16th ace in USGA Senior Amateur history.
On Sunday, the golfers will compete in the second round of stroke-play qualifying. The field will then be cut to the low 64 scorers for match play, which begins Monday. The final five rounds of match play will be played over the next three days, with the championship scheduled to conclude with an 18-hole final on Thursday.
The USGA Senior Amateur, open to golfers 55 and older, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Manakin-Sabot, Va. – Results from Saturday’s first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 2011 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, played at 6,821-yard, par-72 Kinloch Golf Club.
Mark Bemowski, Mukwonago, Wis. - 35-33—68
Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. - 36-34—70
Paul Murphy, Arlington, Mass. - 35-35—70
Rick Woulfe, Ft Lauderdale, Fla. - 34-36—70
Raymond Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. - 36-34—70
Jeff Burda, Modesto, Calif. - 34-37—71
David Anthony, Jacksonville, Fla. - 36-35—71
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C. - 35-36—71
Peter Metzler, Killington, Vt. - 36-35—71
Bill Zylstra, Dearborn Heights, Mich. - 33-38—71
Andrew Congdon, Great Barrington, Mass. - 36-35—71
Kent Frandsen, Lebanon, Ind. - 36-36—72
Tim Carlton, Cypress, Texas - 36-36—72
Joe Viechnicki, Bethlehem, Pa. - 37-35—72
Fred Ridley, Tampa, Fla. - 37-35—72
Emile Vaughan, Pike Road, Ala. - 37-35—72
Joseph Corsi, Greensburg, Pa. - 36-36—72
Gary Brewster, New Orleans, La. - 39-33—72
Tim Miller, Kokomo, Ind. - 37-35—72
Pat O'Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore. - 38-34—72
Jay Sessa, Garden City, N.Y. - 38-35—73
Martin West, Rockville, Md. - 38-35—73
Buddy Marucci, Villanova, Pa. - 36-37—73
Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn. - 37-36—73
Tony Green, Kingsport, Tenn. - 37-36—73
Mike Rice, Houston, Texas - 35-38—73
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. - 37-36—73
Jack Vardaman, Washington, D.C. - 34-39—73
Hunter Nelson, Houston, Texas - 37-36—73
Bill Leonard, Kennesaw, Ga. - 37-36—73
Sam Till Jr., Fort Wayne, Ind. - 38-35—73
Tom Brandes, Bellevue, Wash. - 35-38—73
Ronald Kilby, McAllen, Texas - 39-34—73
James Saivar, San Diego, Calif. - 38-35—73
Steve Poulson, Draper, Utah - 35-38—73
Chris Maletis, Portland, Ore. - 37-37—74
John Grace, Fort Worth, Texas - 38-36—74
Duke Delcher, Bluffton, S.C. - 36-38—74
Mike Jackson, Canada - 37-37—74
J.P. Leigh, Suffolk, Va. - 37-37—74
Bob Kain, Hunting Valley, Ohio - 37-37—74
Jerry Michals, Carlsbad, Calif. - 37-37—74
Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill. - 37-37—74
Rich Tolly, Laguna Hills, Calif. - 39-35—74
Philip Pleat, Nashua, N.H. - 37-37—74
Michael Weiner, Kiawah Island, S.C. - 39-35—74
John Sajevic, Fremont, Neb. - 38-36—74
Pat Vincelli, Rosemount, Minn. - 36-38—74
Michael Bell, Indianapolis, Ind. - 39-36—75
Robert Shelton, Lafayette, La. - 35-40—75
Bill Palmer, Bluffton, S.C. - 38-37—75
James Pearson, Charlotte, N.C. - 40-35—75
Evan Long, Charlotte, N.C. - 37-38—75
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. - 40-35—75
Ian Harris, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. - 37-38—75
Brian Sparrow, Chagrin Falls, Ohio - 37-38—75
J.W. Entsminger, Lexington, Va. - 38-37—75
Joe Sommers, Stamford, Conn. - 37-38—75
Vinny Giles, Richmond, Va. - 38-37—75
Neil Spitalny, Chattanooga, Tenn. - 38-37—75
Brian Harris, Rochester, N.Y. - 38-38—76
Robert Trittler, Wentzville, Mo. - 38-38—76
Louis Lee, Heber Springs, Ark. - 37-39—76
David Cannon, Salt Lake City, Utah - 40-36—76
Steve Whittaker, Becker, Minn. - 40-36—76
Bobby Barben, Avon Park, Fla. - 38-38—76
Rich Gleghorn, Springfield, Mo. - 38-38—76
William Thomas Doughtie, Amarillo, Texas - 42-34—76
James Grainger, Charlotte, N.C. - 40-36—76
Armen Dirtadian, Tucson, Ariz. - 40-36—76
Dan Bieber, Alamo, Calif. - 40-36—76
Cy Kilgore, Beverly, Mass. - 35-41—76
Tim Kelley, Ashland, Va. - 38-38—76
Frank Travetto, Greensboro, Ga. - 39-37—76
Alan Fadel, Toledo, Ohio - 37-39—76
Tom Preston, Mesa, Ariz. - 38-39—77
Steve Fay, Arlington, Va. - 37-40—77
Richard Marlowe, Canfield, Ohio - 39-38—77
Carter Fasick, Milford, Mass. - 37-40—77
David Nelson, Reno, Nev. - 38-39—77
Peach Reynolds, Austin, Texas - 40-37—77
Ronald Carpenter, Creedmoor, N.C. - 39-38—77
Stanford Lee, Heber Springs, Ark. - 39-38—77
Gary Van Sickle, Wexford, Pa. - 39-38—77
Doug Stroup, Hudson, Ohio - 39-38—77
Jack Kearney, Peachtree City, Ga. - 40-37—77
Frank Ford III, Charleston, S.C. - 40-37—77
Michael Booker, The Woodlands, Texas - 39-38—77
Chip Travis, Hinsdale, Ill. - 40-37—77
Robert Polk, Parker, Colo. - 36-41—77
Greg Lynn, Edmond, Okla. - 41-36—77
Casey Boyns, Pacific Grove, Calif. - 38-39—77
J. Robert Gengras, Avon, Conn. - 36-41—77
Eddie Lyons, Shreveport, La. - 38-39—77
Don Detweiler, Raleigh, N.C. - 42-36—78
Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc, Mich. - 38-40—78
Mike Raymond, Jackson, Mich. - 39-39—78
Jim Graham, Rye, N.Y. - 40-38—78
Gary Menzel, Milwaukee, Wis. - 38-40—78
Steve Isaacs, Richmond, Va. - 37-41—78
James Myers, Oceanside, Calif. - 42-36—78
John Davis, Acworth, Ga. - 38-40—78
Carl Ho, Honolulu, Hawaii - 41-37—78
John Enright, Montara, Calif. - 38-40—78
Todd Lusk, Baton Rouge, La. - 40-38—78
Dan Meyers, Oro Valley, Ariz. - 42-36—78
Douglas Pool, Las Vegas, Nev. - 38-40—78
Rick Lutz, Oklahoma City, Okla. - 38-40—78
Craig Collins, Enid, Okla. - 40-39—79
Ken Larney, Orland Park, Ill. - 40-39—79
J. Michael Fetter, East Amherst, N.Y. - 40-39—79
John Pallin, Kenosha, Wis. - 37-42—79
James Wetherbee, Galesburg, Ill. - 39-40—79
Greg Osborne, Lititz, Pa. - 39-40—79
Todd Baumgartner, Bismarck, N.D. - 41-38—79
Allen Pattee, Manchester, N.H. - 41-38—79
Bob Coleman, The Villages, Fla. - 38-41—79
Jim Wise, Columbia, S.C. - 40-39—79
Dan Smith, Fairfield, Ohio - 43-36—79
Jody Vasquez, Aledo, Texas - 40-39—79
Dave Nichols, Roswell, Ga. - 37-42—79
Bill Henry, Cranford, N.J. - 39-40—79
Don Misheff, Silver Lake, Ohio - 40-39—79
James Curell, Boone, Iowa - 44-36—80
Marshall Uchida, Honolulu, Hawaii - 41-39—80
Craig Scheibert, Carmel, Ind. - 41-39—80
Mike Dixon, Trinidad, Colo. - 41-39—80
Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, Calif. - 41-39—80
David Merrell, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. - 39-41—80
Keith Keister, Orlando, Fla. - 41-39—80
Bob Harrington, Portland, Ore. - 39-41—80
Rick George, Greenwood Village, Colo. - 38-42—80
Curtis Langille, Lake Geneva, Wis. - 42-39—81
Dennis Long, Shelbyville, Ky. - 41-40—81
Chip Howell, Anniston, Ala. - 40-41—81
Jon Empanger, Chaska, Minn. - 37-44—81
Bruce Meyer, El Paso, Texas - 40-41—81
Jonathan Verity, Beaufort, S.C. - 42-39—81
Fred Peel, Chipley, Fla. - 39-42—81
Peter Snyder, Encinitas, Calif. - 39-42—81
Greg Stirman, Sugar Land, Texas - 40-42—82
Bob Sherman, Santa Fe, N.M. - 39-43—82
Richard Hageman, Garden Ridge, Texas - 39-43—82
John O'Neill, Carmel, Calif. - 41-41—82
Michael Moore, Spanaway, Wash. - 40-43—83
Mike Owsik, Bryn Mawr, Pa. - 39-44—83
Roger Self, Canada - 43-40—83
Thomas Hofman, Santa Clarita, Calif. - 40-43—83
Calvin Stacey, Billings, Mont. - 43-41—84
Bob Rowland, Danville, Calif. - 44-40—84
William Creason, Louisville, Ky. - 42-43—85
Gary Murdoch, Juneau, Alaska - 44-43—87
Robert Straub, Courtland, Ala. - 44-43—87
Bill Huckin, Dallas, Texas - 46-42—88
Steve Gasper, Birmingham, Mich. - 45-43—88
Wayne Monroe, Bremen, Ga. - 45-47—92