ALTON – For four area golfers, the dream to reach this year's U.S. Amateur at Rivera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., is still alive.
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Those four area golfers – Blaine Bunte of Troy, Brian Gebben of Alton, Joshua Kleinheider of Edwardsville and Marco Tallerico of Glen Carbon – reached Tuesday's second round of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur at Spencer T. Olin Golf Course at Gordon Moore Park Monday. Brighton's Nick Messinger did not make the cut, shooting a 10-over 82, and Edwardsville's Ben Tyrell withdrew from the tournament before play began Monday morning.
Of the four, Bunte and Kleinheider each had 3-under 69s on the par-72, 6,414-yard Spencer T. Olin layout; Tallerico had a 1-over 73 and Gebben a 2-over 74 to make the cut, which was the top 30 golfers and ties and those within eight shots of the lead. The cutoff turned out to be a 5-over 77. Matthew Chueng of Oklahoma City and Sam Migdal of Ballwin, Mo., shared the first-round lead with 4-under 68s on the day.
“It's very exciting” to be able to host the qualifying rounds, said Spencer T. Olin general manager Mary Campbell. “We actually host the event; we do not charge the (U.S. Golf Association) at all – we are offering up our course to them so they can come and play this prestigious course.
“We've had practice rounds from about half the field, so we've had some exposure before; it's important to bring those types of events to Spencer T. Olin like we did in 1999 (when the course hosted the U.S. Public Links Championship, or Publinx). That's my goal – I've had this relationship with Curt Rohe (the tournament director from the USGA) and we've developed it the past four years; he keeps bringing me more events.”
The course was playing well despite some showers in the area Sunday night. “Tim (Johnson), our superintendent, does a great job with the course,” Campbell said. “I think the greens are rolling up to USGA standards; I think they're about between 10 and 11 right now; that's what their (speed) specifications were.
“We needed the rain; it was way overdue. I think it softened (the course) up a little bit, but actually with the greens, it made them roll even a little bit quicker. Over the weekend, they were a little bit hard, so that moisture got in there and allowed it (the greens) to (quicken).”
Campbell felt it was very fortunate that the course is able to host events like the qualifying rounds. “It's because of how the course is laid out, the Arnold Palmer design and most important, the way we keep it,” Campbell said. “It's not the easiest course, but that's what we want.”
Second-round play begins at 7 a.m. Tuesday, with the top three golfers at the end of the day advancing to the U.S. Amateur, which is set for Aug. 14-20 at Rivera; the U.S. Amateur will be televised on Fox and FS1 as part of Fox's contract with the USGA that covers the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and other USGA events.
Buente will tee off in a group with the leaders, Cheung and Migdal, at 10:50 a.m.; Kleinheider will tee off at 10:39 a.m. with Tommy Oliver and Drew Lilly, Tallerico will tee off at 9:11 a.m. in a group with Jay Csipkes and Reilly Ahern while Gebben tees off at 8:38 a.m. in a group with Graham Sherard and Davis Soderberg. The public is invited to the round and admission is free.
