Brian Thomas, who plays from Winter’s Run Golf Club in Bel Air, led a field of 82 starters with a 4-under-par 35-33–68, as the Maryland State Golf Association held the first of its four scheduled dates for its 2017 Amateur and Open championships at Mountain Branch Golf Club in Joppa on May 2.
Jackson Courtney, from Waverly Woods GC, was the only other player with a sub-par round, as he returned 34-35–69. Billy Wingerd, the current Mountain Branch men’s club champion, and Jack Halleron, from Baltimore CC, matched par with 72’s. The weather was mild and sunny, but the players, especially those who played in the afternoon, were buffeted by strong, gusty winds.
With 15 places available for the Amateur it took a 77 to qualify. For the Open, with 12 places available, it took a score of 76 to qualify. There were no ties.
Thomas, who lives around the corner from Mountain Branch, had three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, and a birdie and an eagle coming back. On the opening nine, he had putts of eight feet, five inches, and a chip-in. At the par-3 11th, his tee shot almost went in the hole, and at the 528-yard 12th, he hit the green in two and rolled home the 13-foot putt. He parred the last six holes.
The 33-year-old food broker, who had qualified two years ago, confirmed that the wind was a huge factor, but he thought he did a good job of managing it, especially in keeping his shots under the stiff breezes. Others maybe not so well. Of the 76 who returned a score, 51 failed to break 80.
Courtney, 18, from Woodstock in Howard County and a Marriott’s Ridge High School senior, got off to a great start with an eagle at the 533-yard second (reached the green in two and dropped an eight-foot putt). He birdied the fourth from three feet, then gave one back when he missed the green at the seventh.
On the back, he birdied 11 from six feet and two-putted for birdie at the 12th, then missed the green at 13 and needed two putts from 20 feet. He finished by hitting three of the four par-5’s in two shots.
The remaining qualifiers will be held May 8 at Worthington Manor GC; May 18 at CC Woodmore, and May 24 at Queenstown Harbor Golf Links.
The Amateur championship, for which there were a whopping 414 entries (up from 324 of a year ago) will be held June 8-11 at Columbia CC in Chevy Chase, and the Open, July 10-12 at Woodholme CC in Pikesville.
-Reported by John Stewart
