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Berkmeyer Scorches Gustin, Leads by 5
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Updated: Sat 6/2/2012 9:03 pm
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The 2012 Phil Cotton Invitational teed up today at Gustin Golf Course in Columbia, MO with many of the state's top amateurs in the field. Three time Missouri Amateur Champion, Skip Berkmeyer, was quickly identified as the favorite by Head Golf Professional Jim Knoesel during an interview on 101.1 ESPN Saturday morning. Given the fast conditions of Gustin Golf Course, as a result of very little rain fall lately, Knoesel hinted to watch for players with experience at Gustin to have an advantage.
Knoesel couldn't have been more accurate in his prediction as Berkmeyer posted nine 3's and nine 4's over his 18 holes to post a sizzling 7-under par, 63 for a 5 shot lead heading into Sunday's final round. Bob Hanneken and Billy Wynn will start Sunday's round 5 shots back, but will need a lot of help from Berkmeyer if they are to be playing for anything more than 2nd place.
Berkmeyer got started early taking advantage of the par 5, 1st hole making a routine birdie 4 after hitting his approach shot in the greenside bunker. After a near miss on the par 3, 2nd hole, Berkmeyer drained a 40 foot putt on 3 to go 2-under for the day. After a perfect tee shot on the 4th hole, Berkmeyer came up short with his Sand Wedge approach shot but easily saved par. His first blemish on the day came at the par 3, 5th hole where Berkmeyer's tee shot ballooned in the air and fell 20 yards short of the green. His wedge shot nearly found the hole, but then caught one of Gustin's sloping greens and was faced with a 20 foot par attempt which he barely missed.
Quick to bounce back, Berkmeyer drained another long putt on the par 4, 6th hole after pushing a Wedge to the right fringe. He had another great look at birdie, but settled for par on 7, but converted another birdie on 8 after a solid tee shot and excellent approach shot to 7 feet. A par on the 9th hole produced a 3 under par, 32 thru nine holes.
The par 3, 10th hole was playing just over 190 yards with wind helping the players slightly. Berkmeyer pushed a 6-iron into the right green side bunker where his ball plugged. Although he hit a good bunker shot, his par putt came up a few revolutions short producing Berkmeyer's 2nd bogey of the day. Berkmeyer proceeded to make par on 11, birdied the short par 5, 12th hole and par on the difficult par 3, 13th. A good hybrid off the tee and good wedge from the fairway set Berkmeyer up for another birdie on 14. Berkmeyer hit his tee shot on 15 thru the fairway and then hit his loosest approach shot of the day putting his ball 40 feet above the hole. But on this day, Berkmeyer was in total control on the greens and hit a putt with the perfect speed down the slope and curled in the left side for his 2nd consecutive birdie.
The par 4, 16th hole presents a risk / reward option for the players. A dog leg right, par 4 of just over 300 yards can be shortened to approximately 280 yards if the players opt to hit a blind tee shot over trees. But taking the shorter option brings trouble right as well native grasses left of the fairway into play. Berkmeyer planned for a high fade, but his shot stayed straight and hit a tree left of the green and his ball ricocheted into the high grass. After progressing his ball from the high grass into the front green side bunker, Berkmeyer hit a perfect bunker shot to 2 feet and saved his par. A perfectly positioned tee shot on the par 4, 17th hole left Berkmeyer less than 60 yards to the green. After a well played wedge to 5 feet, Berkmeyer curled in yet another birdie. His score card now featured nine 4's and eight 3's on the card to which his playing partner, Bobby Godwin brought to Berkmeyer's attention on the 18th tee. So what did Berkmeyer do, he made a birdie 3 on the finishing hole for a 7-under par, 63.
Berkmeyer will tee off at 1:30pm in the final pairing with Bob Hanneken (68) and Billy Wynn (68). Ryan Eckelkamp (70), Ronnie Strong (69) and Hunter Parrish (69) will play in the second to last group. Chuck Greene (70), Brent Holmes (70) and Scott Kirchoff (71) will be off at 1:10. Mizzou golfer, Nick Wilson (72) will be paired with Scott Hovis (72) and Jasen Matyas (71) at 1pm.
For a full listing of Round 2 starting times, visit Gustin's website - HERE.
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