Am Worlds - Day Two
Am Worlds - Day Two
As the Great Shuffle takes place, it’s time for mini golf!
Day 2 of Singles competition at the 2011 PDGA Amateur World Championships in Rochester, NY is over!
While the PDGA staff finished compiling scores and working on new pool assignments for the Advanced and Advanced Masters divisions, the mini disc golf finals were held outside the host hotel Wednesday evening.
Starting just outside the front door Kenny Glassman, Dylan Horst, Cody Greenfield, Don Altmyer, and Larry Entz showed off their mini-throwing skills and wound their way around the sidewalks along the hotel, over the walkway spanning the Genesee River, and finally ending outside the Stock Exchange Restaurant which was hosting the evening festivities.
The first hole was a relatively short one and gave each mini golfer a chance to air it out and re-adjust their technique to mini throwing. Hole two was a longer throw with the basket perched on a wall. After seeing the first approach go sailing past the mini basket and over the wall, the other guys took a more conservative approach and threw low wormburners that skittered along the sidewalk into the wall. Hole four separated the men from the boys in terms of risk taking. This hole was on a section of the walkway across the river that split left and right. The tee was on the left branch of the path while the basket was on the right branch. Players had the option of throwing about 60 ft directly across the gap over the water or taking the safer but longer route down and around the path. Two of the five went over the water with one actually hitting the top of the basket. The gallery went crazy!
Another amazing shot came on the last hole. After throwing a great but wide drive, the mini golfer was left with a tough shot from the middle of a bush. With the basket perched on top of the wall with nothing but the Genesee River behind it, it was a tremendously risky putt. Crouched in the bush, the guy absolutely pured his putt. Nothing but mini chains! The crowd went even crazier this time!
In the end, two mini golf champions were crowned. Congratulations to Amateur Men champion Kenny Glassman (IL) and Senior Men champion Don Altmyer (SD). Don is a repeat mini golf champion having also won the 2009 title at the Kansas City Worlds. He even used the same mini Wednesday night as he did in KC!
After Wednesday’s singles action on the courses, and the shuffle of pools, there are some exciting contests to keep an eye on:
Kenny Glassman is looking to add a 2011 World Amateur Singles title to his Mini Golf title as he goes into Thursday’s rounds leading the Advanced division at eight-under par along with co-leader Dan Hastings. Pete Ulibarri is only a throw behind in second place, with Cameron Colglazier, Spencer Wilken, and Billy Dunne all tied for fourth place only a single further throw back at six under par.
Patricia Neprud Mehls and Carol Silverthorn are all tied up as the leaders in the Ladies Advanced Grandmaster division, with Donna Griest only three throws back in third place.
Another really tight race to watch is in the Men’s Advanced Senior Grandmaster Division with Frank Ammon and Ron James tied for the lead with Michael Whipple only a single throw back in third, Mike Wulbecker another single throw back in fourth, and four other players all within only 5 strokes of the leaders.
Steven Jacobs holds a single stroke lead over Luke Morstad in the Junior Boys 19-and-Under division with Zach Ashenbach four further strokes back in third place.
Scores are also tight in the Junior Boys 16-and-Under division where Justin Lammers holds the lead only one throw ahead of Andrew Coggin in second place, two throws ahead of Kars Larson in third place, and four throws ahead of C.J. Hopper in fourth.
Other divisional leaders include:
In Advanced Women, Melynda Apton had a great round today to give her a seven throw lead over Paige Bjerkaas and Michelle Fraser who are tied for second with Nicole Cazares only a single throw back in fourth.
Rick Reichard is leading the Advanced Masters division by 6 strokes over Jeffery Perrigo with Tim McCall a throw back in third place, and Christopher Krailes a further throw back in fourth.
Elfriede Eberly leads the Advanced Masters Women by four throws over Dawn Osborne in second and another four throws over Joy Staats who is in third place.
In the Advanced Grandmasters division Robert Martinek leads by three throws over Mark Hauser with Mike Brayton a further 5 throws back in third place.
Brick Dowell leads Nicholas Duran by only two strokes in the Junior Boys Under-13 division but with a big gap separating them from third place held by Austin Krise.
In the Junior Boys 10-and-under division, Ian Krajna is in the lead by fifteen strokes over his closest competitor Conall Stillwagon who holds an additional 18 strokes over Isaac Meeder in third place.
There are three Junior girls playing at AM Worlds and despite the fact that they are the only competitors in their respective divisions, they are still having a blast playing together. The young ladies played their third round today finishing on the par-57 Ellison Park course in Rochester. In the FJ1 (19 and Under) Junior division, Breanna Vogel shot a 66 which brings her total score to a 209. In the FJ3 (13 and under) Junior division, McKensie Eckeberger shot a 78 giving her a total of 254. And in the FJ1 (10 and under) Junior division, Lacey Brugler shot a 96 bringing her to a 288 total score.
Last, but certainly not least, are the elder statesmen of the tourney - the Advanced Legends division. These gentlemen are at least 70 years young, and as one of the most physically fit competitors in the entire tourney, Pete May of Augusta, Georgia is currently leading the division by an astounding 26 throws after only two rounds of play. Paulie Bagwell is in second, David Siersdale is in third, and Art Elliot is in fourth place.
or more 2011 PDGA AM Worlds scores, blogs, stories, and photos, see:
Am Worlds photo galleries at Flickr
John “Killer B” Borelli and Andrew “ Big Dog” Sweeton