Courtesy of UAB Athletics
After having to wait an extra day, the 75 players competing in the 62nd edition of the Porter Cup got on the golf course on Thursday.
Ben Reichert of East Amherst, New York grabbed the first-round lead after finishing 18 holes at Niagara Falls Country Club in 6-under par 64.
Reichert, who played college golf at Alabama-Birmingham, will take a two-shot lead into Friday, a day that will see the competitors play 36 holes weather permitting.
Skip Berkmeyer (Town and Country, Mo.),
Jack Wall (Brielle, N.J.), and
Colby Patton (Clemson, S.C.) all share second place after matching rounds of 4-under par 66.
Seven players are at 3-under par 67 including
Peter Bradbeer (Rosemont.PA),
Connor Glynn (Waconia, Minn.),
James Tureskis (Naples, Fla),
Doug Ergood, Jr. (Mount Laurel, N.J.), Ethan Ng (New York),
Brandon Berry (Great Falls, Va.) and
Herman Sekne (Oslo, Norway).
A total of 18 players broke par.
Reichert, who captured both the New York and Florida Amateur titles in 2019, turned in a clean scorecard. He birdied three of his first four holes and made the turn in 3-under par 32. He added three additional birdies on the way in at the 11th, 13th, and 14th.
Berkmeyer, who tied for 10th at the George C. Thomas Invitational earlier this year, was four under par for the day through 10 holes but lost ground via bogeys at 11 and 12. He regained two strokes with birdies at 15 and 18.
Wall, who is heading into his third year at South Carolina, also got off to a hot start. He birdied the first three holes and added additional birdies at the 11th and 13th before recording his only bogey of the day at the par-4 14th.
Patton, who played four years of golf at Clemson, had an up-and-down opening nine. He stood at even par through 10 holes but an eagle at the par-5 11th gave him some momentum and he added two birdies coming in.
The biggest star of the day was probably Niagara Falls superintendent Dave Meteer. The golf course took a pre-tournament hit from Mother Nature. After an all-day rain this past Saturday it absorbed four inches of rain in a three-hour period on Tuesday due to thunderstorms, leaving some areas underwater.
Wednesday’s scheduled opening round was postponed and Thursday’s tee times were pushed back three hours to allow Meteer and his team the time to do the necessary work to make the course fit for play.
The second and third rounds on Friday will utilize a double-tee start. The fourth round is scheduled for Saturday. Tournament officials have left open the possibility of extending the event to Sunday if necessary.
ABOUT THE
Porter Cup
One of the premier amateur events in the
nation, this 72-hole stroke play invitational has
lots of extra activities that give this event a special
flavor. The winning player receives a green blazer, as
well as an invitation to the Master of the Amateurs
tournament in Melbourne, Australia. Pre-tournament
qualifying is a few weeks prior to the
event and approximately five spots are available.
Starting in 2023, the men's and women's
Porter Cup championships are run concurrently with
54 players in each field and alternating
tee times. It's been exciting seeing the top players in each division in final pairings on the par-3 18th hole at Niagara Falls CC, with large galleries always appreciative of the rising talent.
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