Menante's title defense at Northeast Amateur off to strong start
Dylan Menante (Pepperdine photo)
It doesn't seem to make much of a difference the Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, RI is some 3,000 miles from
Dylan Menante's hometown of Carlsbad, Calif.
The former Pepperdine golfer who recently transferred to North Carolina, feels right at home at this Donald Ross classic, as he posted a 7-under 62 in the first round of the Northeast Amateur on Wednesday.
With his strong start to his title defense, Menante enjoys a three shot lead over NCAA individual champion
Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt and
Georgia Tech's Connor Howe, who both shot 4-under 65s.
Menante, who won this tournament last year with a 9-under score 267, showed no signs he was ready to relinquish his title anytime soon, as he made five birdies over the opening nine holes to go out in 29. With the crowd on a "59 Watch," Menante shot 33 on the back to complete a 7-under round of 62 on the par-69 layout.
Steadily rising, and lurking around the top-10 in all major
amateur golf rankings, Menante narrowly missed an opportunity to play in the U.S. Open, posting a 36-hole total that placed him out of a playoff by a single shot at San Francisco's Olympic Club in final qualifying.
Kelly Chinn, who is coming off a second-place finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur last week, sits in fourth place after the Duke golfer carded a 3-under round of 66. Nine golfers are at 2-under.
The Northeast Amateur is the second of seven events comprising the Elite Amateur Series, which began last week with the Sunnehanna Amateur in Johnstown, Pa.
ABOUT THE
Northeast Amateur
The Northeast Amateur has a historic list of winners,
including Ben Crenshaw, Dustin Johnson, Collin
Morikawa, Luke
Donald,
Scott Hoch, John Cook, Hal Sutton, and David Duval.
It
has been annually held at the Donald Ross-designed
Wannamoisett Country Club since 1962. The event
is
limited to 90 elite players; there is a cut after 54
holes
and the entire tournament is played in twosomes.
View Complete Tournament Information