Parker Coody (Monroe Invitational photo)
By Rick Woelfel for AmateurGolf.com
As the Monroe Invitational hits the halfway mark, there’s quite
a crowd at the top of the leaderboard. First-day leader
Agustin Segundo Oliva Pinto remains at the head of the pack but seven
pursuers are within four shots of him.
One of them is
Parker Coody, whose 5-under par 65 on Friday
was the low round of the day and has him tied for second place
at 2-under par 138, two shots off the pace.
Coody’s round was all the more remarkable since Monroe
Country Club played quite differently on Thursday than it did on
Wednesday.
"Yesterday the weather was perfect," Coody said. "Light wind
and warm. Today it was cold, windy, and raining. So, it was
quite a bit different."
Coody, the grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody
recently finished his freshman season at Texas where he helped
the Longhorns earn a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division I
Championship and tied for 15th individually.
He played his front nine on Thursday in 3-under par 32 with the
help of 20-foot birdie putts at the par-4 fifth and par-3 eighth.
He recorded his only bogey of the round at the par-4 10th but
converted birdie chances at the par-5 12th and par-4 14th before
holing out from a bunker at the par-3 17th.
Coody said he adjusted his mindset to fit the weather
conditions. "Yesterday (when he shot 73) I was way too
aggressive," he said. "Today, I knew the weather was going to
be bad so I was pretty conservative for the most part going to
greens. I was hitting fairways off the tee and then I just made a
few putts and it added up pretty quickly."
Coody said he’s been working with Scott Foster along with
Texas head coach John Fields and assistant Jean-Paul Hebert to
enhance his course-management skills. "Yesterday I was kind of
ignorant and threw it to the side and I wasn’t paying too much
attention," he said. "Over this last year I’ve become more
mature and a more reasonable player versus just firing at pins
and hitting clubs I shouldn’t off the tee, just to force a birdie
when the chances aren’t that great instead of just taking your
15-20 footers and relying on your putter to make it."
"It’s been a little bit of a learning curve this freshman year."
Olivia Pinto, who just finished his freshman season at UNC-
Wilmington, shot a 2-over par 72 on Thursday that puts him at
4-under par 136 through 36 holes. He struggled on his outward
nine at Monroe Golf Club, recording four bogeys before
recording two birdies coming in.
"On the back I am leaving myself with shots I like the most," he
said, "shorter shots with my wedges which have been good all
week."
Charlie Nikitas from Miami of Ohio shares second place with
Coody at 138 after a round of 68. Nikitas, who started his round
on the back nine, birded two of his first three holes and made
the turn two under par for the round and the tournament
before playing the front nine in even par.
Reid Davenport from Vanderbilt is alone in fourth place at 1-
under par 139 after a 71 while
Johnny Travale (UCF),
Andy
Ogletree (Georgia Tech),
Logan McAllister (Oklahoma) and
three-time Canadian Mid-Amateur champion
Garrett Rank are
all at even-par 140.
Notes: Rank, the low mid-amateur in the field and a National
Hockey League referee by trade, stated out by blending three
birdies and two bogeys on the back side into a 1-under par 34
before adding a single birdie on the front. A year ago this week,
Rank was teeing it up at Shinnecock Hills in the U.S. Open.
ABOUT THE
The Monroe Invitational is held at Monroe Golf Club
in Pittsford, NY, and is one of the oldest amateur
tournaments in the United States, dating back to its
first playing in 1937. The course is a Donald Ross
design that is a Golfweek Top 100 Classic Course.
The tournament is a 72 hole stroke play event with a
54 hole cut. Invitations are sent out to exempt
players in early February, but the Tournament
Committee would encourage any interested players
to apply for a non-exempt invitation through the
tournament website.
Website:
www.monroeinvitational.com
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