Garett Reband and Karl Vilips (OU and Jr Presidents Cup photos)
After three rounds at the South Beach International Amateur (SBIA), two players have separated themselves from the field.
Oklahoma senior Garett Reband (York, S.C.) and No. 1 ranked junior Karl Vilips from Australia are at 5 under par and four shots ahead of everyone else.
Vilips, the Stanford commit from Perth, tied the low round of the day with his 4-under 67. He has been a birdie machine with 13 birdies over his last two rounds. Reband has has at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds. His 69 in round three makes him the only players in the field with three under-par rounds.
North Carolina State's Ben Shipp (Duluth, Georgia) shot the other 67 to put himselfalone in third place, 4 strokes back of the leaders.
Saturday morning's weather was much the same as the first two days. Players teeing offat 7:30 were met by high winds (24 mph) and a steady rain. Fortunately the rain stopped after 45 minutes but the players still had to deal with a different course than they had played in their first or second round, as the wind was blowing from the east not the north.
Play concludes tomorrow at Miami Beach Golf Club starting at 7:30am in a double-tee startdue to the expectations of severe afternoon storms.
DAY TWO RECAP
Oklahoma senior Garett Reband (York, S.C.) followed up his first round 68 at Normandy Shores with a 1-under 70 at Miami Beach Golf Club to take a one shot lead after 36 holes at the South Beach International Amateur. Reband’s consistent round included 4 birdies against a bogey and a double bogey which was remarkable considering the constant 25 mph winds that blew across the course.
The rain that plagued the first round cleared early in the morning and the players who were unable to finish round one at Miami Beach completed their rounds and then went over to start their second rounds at Normandy Shores.
Texas Tech’s Garrett Martin shot 2-under 69 at Miami Beach Golf Club -- the low round of the day on that course -- to put himself in a tie for second place, one stroke back. 20-year-old Jannik De Bruyn of Germany matched the 69 and shares second with Martin.
Stanford commit and top-ranked junior Karl Vilips of Australia is alone in fourth place after shooting a 2-under 68 at Normandy Shores.
Junior star Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland is tied for 5th place with four others after shooting a one-under 70 at Miami Beach. McKibbin’s round was a roller coaster, with two bogeys and two doubles offset by seven birdies, including five in a row starting at the fourth.
Befitting the international nature of this event, six different countries are represented inside the top ten. Overall this year’s field includes 104 international players from 31 countries, making the SBIA the second largest international tournament in the world, exceeded only by the British Amateur.
The round of the day at Normandy Shores was shot by Korea’s Won Jun Lee who plays for Arizona State. His 67 put him right on the cut line allowing him to join the other 79 players who will play the weekend.
The players may find tomorrow’s challenge a little easier as the sun will make an appearance and the winds are expected to be in the 20 mph range. Tee times will start at 7:30am with the leaders teeing off at 11:20.
ABOUT THE
South Beach International
72-hole event with 36-hole cut. Open to
highly
ranked amateurs, college players, mid-amateurs
and juniors. Non-exempt players must submit a playing
resume to be considered for the field.
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