Richard Holland, from Columbia Country Club, led a field of 115 with a 2-under-par 70, one of only three sub-par rounds in an Amateur/Open qualifier, sponsored and conducted by the Maryland State Golf Association at the Country Club at Woodmore, May 16.
Holland led the Amateur division, where 26 players at 76 and better advanced.
Professional Greg Pieczynski, from Manor CC, topped the Open division with 71, as 28 players at 78 and better advanced.
The Amateur will be played June 6-9 at the Chevy Chase Club, and the Open, July 15-17 at Worthington Manor GC in Urbana.
Amateur John A. Newcomb, Jr., who registered through the MSGA eClub, followed Holland with a 71. He posted a birdie and two bogeys on the front, then had two birdies on the back for 37-34. He had previously led an Amateur flight with 72 at Hog Neck GC in 2016.
Holland, a two-time Middle Atlantic Amateur champion, whose most recent success was winning the Senior division of the Washington Metropolitan Four-Ball with Steve Ford last fall, had four birdies, three bogeys over a course of 6,834 yards played to a par of 36-36–72. Although two of his bogeys were 3-putts, he still felt that he putted pretty well. “The key to the course, I think, is driving the ball well and I thought I did that.” His birdie putts ran the gamut from two feet to 35 feet and included a 20-footer to go with a chip-in.
Pieczynski, who won the 2018 MSGA Pro-Scratch championship with Ben Warnquist, a two-time MSGA Amateur titlist, started on No. 10, had two birdies and a bogey on the back for 35, then had two of each on the front for 36. He previously had been the low pro with 72 at Hobbit’s Glen in 2016.
Notes: Joe Scheffres, from Woodmont CC, who won the Washington Metropolitan Mid-Am last year, had the low front nine with 32 (four birdies, including 5-6-7), certainly a strong comeback, as he had opened with 42 on the back, a number that included three bogeys and a triple. He finished at 72, good for second in the Open section and a tie for second in the Amateur. . .Tucker Sampson, Manor CC, eagled the 524-yard 18th hole on his way to 36-36–72. . .Host pro Jeff Rosenberg, low pro at Woodmore with 73 two years ago, started on No. 1 and produced five birdies, including three of the last four holes, in an up-and-down tour that ended on 75.
Reported by John Stewart
