Richmond, Texas – John Engler, 32, of Augusta, Ga., shot a 1-under 71 Sunday to take a one-stroke lead during the second round of stroke-play qualifying at the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
Engler, who shot a first-round 68 at the par-72, 7,170-yard Shadow Hawk Golf Club, had three birdies and two bogeys en route to his second-round 71 at the adjacent par-72, 7,125-yard Houstonian Golf & Country Club, the companion stroke-play qualifying course.
On the par-4 ninth hole at The Houstonian, the 18th of Engler’s round, he hit an 8-iron to 10 feet and made the birdie to best by one stroke first-round leader Paul Simson, who carded a second-round 1-over 73 at Shadow Hawk.
I knew kind of where I was at, said Engler, who finished his round about 15 minutes prior to a weather delay that came at 1:55 p.m. CDT. I just wanted to stay in a good frame of mind and get in the top 64 [for match play].
For the second consecutive day, weather issues plagued the Mid-Amateur. Play was suspended for 3 hours, 45 minutes. The competitors in the morning wave were able to complete their second and final round of qualifying. None of the golfers in the afternoon wave completed their second rounds when darkness suspended play for the day at 7:18 p.m. CDT.
Play will resume on Monday at 7:30 a.m. CDT.
This is the second consecutive Mid-Amateur appearance for Engler, a reinstated amateur who played professionally for two years on the Nationwide Tour. In 2003, while a professional, he suffered a severe ankle injury in an automobile accident coming home from a hunting trip on his parents’ farm. The injury, which eventually forced him to leave professional golf, still affects him and makes it difficult for him to walk.
It continues to swell, said Engler. To be healthy, I can only play about one tournament a month. I played in the U.S. Amateur (last month) and now here.
It was a pretty severe break, a major dislocation of the ankle; pretty nasty, he said. People said I would never be able to walk without a limp, much less play golf. I came back and was very fortunate to have a short professional career. Obviously I couldn’t do it as much [because of the injury].
Simson, 60, of Raleigh, N.C., followed up his 5-under 67 with the 73 at Shadow Hawk. The five-time USGA stroke-play medalist and 2010 USGA Senior Amateur champion was disappointed to narrowly miss out on medalist honors, but was pleased with his overall play.
I played pretty solid, said Simson, a co-medalist at the 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur and four-time USGA Senior Amateur medalist. I hit the ball well and I’m putting pretty well. Yesterday I just hit the ball really well. I was hitting it close and making putts. I’m not at all disappointed. I’m going to take it easy this afternoon and gain some strength for match play.
Simson will easily advance to match play, which is scheduled to begin Monday at Shadow Hawk.
This course is no doubt more difficult than the other one, said Simson after playing his second round at Shadow Hawk. The tee shots are a lot more demanding. You have to be a lot more accurate with your ball off the tee and the placement off the tee. So I was just trying to hit good shots and get into a position where I’ll feel comfortable tomorrow, and I think I accomplished that.
Matching Simson’s two-day total of 4-under 140 was Kevin Pomarleau, 42, of E. Wenatchee, Wash., who missed a 5-footer on No. 18 that would have vaulted him into a tie with Engler. Pomarleau was at eight under par through 12 holes before making two double bogeys over his final six holes, including the par-5 16th when his 6-iron approach found water. He regrouped to finish with a pair of pars.
I wanted to make that one, said Pomarleau, a reinstated amateur who played professional golf around the world for 12 years, of the putt on No. 18. It was one of those putts if you play break, you can’t hit it too hard. I played break and I didn’t quite hit it hard enough. I wanted to play it a ball out and maybe pulled it to the edge.
Mike McCaffrey, 41, of League City, Texas, who was a stroke behind Simson after a 4-under 68 at Shadow Hawk Saturday, was two under through 11 holes at The Houstonian, putting him at six under overall with seven holes remaining.
Two-time defending champion Nathan Smith, 33, of Pittsburgh, Pa., who opened with a 2-under 70 at Shadow Hawk, also was playing at The Houstonian.
After the conclusion of the second round of stroke play, the U.S. Mid-Amateur field will be reduced to 64 players for match play. The first round of match play is scheduled for Monday, the second and third rounds will be played Tuesday, the quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be played Wednesday, and the 36-hole championship final will be played Thursday.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association each year, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Story written by Beth Murrison, USGA Manager of Championship Communications. For questions or comments, contact her atbmurrison@usga.org.
Richmond, Texas – Results from Sunday’s second round of stroke play at the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur at the par-72, 7,170-yard Shadow Hawk Golf Club and the par-72, 7,125-yard Houstonian Golf & Country Club (sh = Shadow Hawk; th = The Houstonian) (note = second round not complete; will resume at 7:30 a.m. CDT Monday):
John Engler, Augusta, Ga., 68sh-71th--139
Kevin Pomarleau, E. Wenatchee, Wash., 68sh-72th--140
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C., 67th-73sh--140
Kenny Cook, Noblesville, Ind., 74th-68sh--142
Michael Muehr, Potomac Falls, Va., 73th-69sh--142
Clarke Kincaid, Trophy Club, Texas, 73th-69sh--142
Scott Stevens, Encinitas, Calif., 69th-73sh--142
Gavin Parsons, Garden City, Idaho, 72th-71sh--143
Terence Begnel, Tulsa, Okla., 72sh-72th--144
Chris Chuck, Roswell, Ga., 73sh-71th--144
Blake Johnson, Winnetka, Ill., 73sh-71th--144
Serge Hogg, Baltimore, Md., 71th-73sh--144
Jimmy Chang, San Marino, Calif., 69th-75sh--144
Paul Jacobsen, Racine, Wis., 71th-73sh--144
Barry Dyche, Charlotte, N.C., 70th-74sh--144
Shaun Helmle, Seabrook, Texas, 72sh-73th--145
Jeffrey Osberg, West Chester, Pa., 72sh-73th--145
Gary Robinson, San Diego, Calif., 73sh-72th--145
Stephen Summers, Dallas, Texas, 76sh-69th--145
Scott Harvey, Greensboro, N.C., 72th-73sh--145
T.J. Shuart, Coral Springs, Fla., 72th-73sh--145
Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa., 71th-74sh--145
Billy Jackson, The Woodlands, Texas, 71th-74sh--145
Camron Howell, San Tan Valley, Ariz., 72sh-74th--146
Andres Gaviria, Coral Gables, Fla., 73sh-73th--146
Rob Couture, Dallas, Texas, 72th-74sh--146
Kevin Marsh, Henderson, Nev., 73th-73sh--146
Chris Forbes, Katy, Texas, 71th-75sh--146
Mark Miller, West Covina, Calif., 74sh-73th--147
Sammy Schmitz, Apple Valley, Minn., 72sh-75th--147
Aaron Hickman, Dallas, Texas, 77sh-70th--147
Michael McCoy, West Des Moines, Iowa, 69th-78sh--147
Randal Lewis, Alma, Mich., 75sh-73th--148
James Scorse, Rochester, N.Y., 74sh-74th--148
Doug Albers, Leawood, Kan., 80sh-68th--148
Herbie Aikens, Pembroke, Mass., 75sh-74th--149
Steve Daniele, Fresno, Calif., 77sh-72th--149
Tony Behrstock, Los Angeles, Calif., 74sh-75th--149
Jamie Looper, Oakdale, Calif., 73sh-76th--149
Jeff Jolley, South Jordan, Utah, 73th-76sh--149
Tucker Sampson, Chevy Chase, Md., 77th-72sh--149
Bryan Hoops, Chandler, Ariz., 77th-72sh--149
Thad Hudgens, Longwood, Fla., 77sh-73th--150
Tom Carlson, Sioux Falls, S.D., 77sh-73th--150
Tony Soerries, The Woodlands, Texas, 73sh-77th--150
Tad Leistico, Worthington, Minn., 77th-73sh--150
Paul Welle, Scottsdale, Ariz., 74th-76sh--150
Matt Heestand, Cleveland, Ohio, 80sh-71th--151
Bradley Rock Jr, Plainview, N.Y., 76sh-75th--151
Andrew Gabelman, Barrington, Ill., 78sh-73th--151
Christopher Herzog, Chico, Calif., 74sh-77th--151
Darrin Overson, Provo, Utah, 76sh-75th--151
Andre Bolukbas, Cresskill, N.J., 79sh-72th--151
Daniel Griffiths, Eugene, Ore., 81sh-71th--152
Adam Baxter, Fairbanks, Alaska, 78sh-74th--152
Matt Behm, Janesville, Wis., 79sh-73th--152
David Vaclav, Grosse Isle, Mich., 78sh-74th--152
Michael Sullivan, Spring, Texas, 74sh-78th--152
Daniel Russo, Hagaman, N.Y., 75sh-77th--152
Gregg Angelillo, Basking Ridge, N.J., 75th-77sh--152
Nikhil Desai, Sanford, Fla., 79th-73sh--152
Michael Morrison, Roswell, Ga., 73th-79sh--152
Bradley Hardin, Martinsville, Ind., 76th-76sh--152
Edward Sanchez, San Antonio, Texas, 75th-77sh--152
Heath Myers, Kingfisher, Okla., 75th-77sh--152
Jeff Boyer, Oklahoma City, Okla., 75th-77sh--152
Dan Crockett, Brentwood, Tenn., 75sh-78th--153
Bill Winter, Portland, Ore., 76sh-77th--153
Paul Erdman, Erie, Colo., 76sh-77th--153
Paul Lang, Canada, 77sh-76th--153
Eric Burch, Machesney Park, Ill., 78th-75sh--153
Kenneth Weixel, Columbus, Ohio, 80th-73sh--153
Peach Reynolds, Austin, Texas, 74th-79sh--153
Jess Bonneau, Cypress, Texas, 81sh-73th--154
Patrick Carter, Huntington, W.Va., 78th-76sh--154
Lee Gladden, Madison, Miss., 80th-74sh--154
Edward Davis, San Mateo, Calif., 77sh-78th--155
Craig Miyamoto, Sacramento, Calif., 78sh-77th--155
Bill Moore, Syracuse, N.Y., 78sh-77th--155
Tim Hogarth, Northridge, Calif., 76th-79sh--155
Jeff Golliher, Knoxville, Tenn., 78th-77sh--155
Grant Goltz, Dekalb, Ill., 79th-76sh--155
Jeff Holzschuh, Greenwich, Conn., 77th-78sh--155
Shane Brady, Provo, Utah, 79sh-77th--156
Kenny Kowall, Parma, Ohio, 80sh-76th--156
Larry Storck, Baltimore, Md., 78sh-78th--156
James Kurtenbach, Denver, Colo., 77sh-79th--156
Tim Hamm, Minneapolis, Minn., 80sh-76th--156
Michael Larson, Boulder, Colo., 79sh-77th--156
Philip Mahone, Charlottesville, Va., 80th-76sh--156
Thomas Gramigna, Haddonfield, N.J., 79th-77sh--156
Marc Mandel, Conshohocken, Pa., 75th-81sh--156
Patrick Murphy, Glencoe, Ill., 76th-80sh--156
Ryan Leahey, Orange, Conn., 77th-79sh--156
Jeffrey Duncan, Carson City, Nev., 81th-75sh--156
Alan Bardwell, Bloomington, Ill., 74th-82sh--156
Doug Stiles, Athens, Ga., 80th-76sh--156
Jesse Bull, Minneapolis, Minn., 75th-81sh--156
Braxton McLennan, Charlotte, N.C., 79sh-78th--157
Ricky Jones, Thomaston, Maine, 76sh-81th--157
Joshua Chamberlain, Amherst, N.H., 79th-78sh--157
Chance Holmes, Phoenix, Ariz., 81th-76sh--157
Bob Mathers, Niceville, Fla., 79th-78sh--157
Torrey Welsch, Freeburg, Ill., 78th-79sh--157
John Pate, Santa Barbara, Calif., 76th-81sh--157
Jason Reddick, Encinitas, Calif., 79th-78sh--157
Paul Buttafuoco, Enfield, Conn., 81sh-77th--158
Shawn Tucker, Whitefish, Mont., 76sh-82th--158
Brad Landry, Scott, La., 83sh-75th--158
Gene Williams, San Antonio, Texas, 77th-81sh--158
Michael Kloenne, West Linn, Ore., 81th-77sh--158
Chadd Slutzky, Palatine, Ill., 83sh-76th--159
Trip Smalley, Mobile, Ala., 83sh-76th--159
Steven Brame, Henderson, N.C., 77sh-82th--159
Bebo Patton, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 78th-81sh--159
Chris Hartenstein, Austin, Texas, 79th-81sh--160
Mark McCormick, Hanover, Mass., 86sh-76th--162
Scott McLaughlin, Harleysville, Pa., 82sh-81th--163
Rudy Hermstadt, Waterbury, Conn., 80sh-84th--164
Matthew Cannan, Chicago, Ill., 83sh-81th--164
Nathan Wilson, Sheridan, Wyo., 86sh-78th--164
John Ramsey, Glenview, Ill., 83th-82sh--165
Jay Betchan, Garber, Okla., 82th-83sh--165
Andrew Spooner, Austin, Texas, 84th-82sh--166
Rick Ten Broeck, Chicago, Ill., 82th-84sh--166
Paul Rice, Redlands, Calif., 88sh-82th--170
Andrew Denenberg, Chicago, Ill., 82th-88sh--170
Lucas Trierweiler, Plainwell, Mich., 88sh-92th--180
Greg Cole, The Woodlands, Texas, 76sh-WDth--WD
Brian Corcoran, Dallas, Texas, 80th-DQsh--DQ
Mark Bartlett, Little Rock, Ark., 76th-WDsh--WD
Matt Bianchini, West Boylston, Mass., 85th-WDsh--WD