Eight slots in the tournament proper of the 2015 Porter Cup are available to ninety golfers. These stalwarts will tee it up from 8:00 to 1:00, with the final grouping due to finish around 5:30. At that point, ties will be resolved via playoff for qualifiers and alternates. The list of entrants includes former Porter Cup participants, the current International Junior Masters champion, a number of college and high school standouts and members of the home club, the Niagara Falls country club.
Qualifying into the field of the main event is a challenging process. Like gunslingers in the old west, golfers had better have their wits and games in top order from the very first tee. There is little margin for error and par is never good enough. In prior years, the qualifying medal has hovered around 67, with scores of 68 and lower considered safe bets to advance. In 2014, Patrick Sheedy of East Amherst claimed the medal with 66, then finished in a tie for 59th place. Last year’s qualifying hero was Daniel Yustin, also of East Amherst. After posting 67 in the qualifier, Yustin marked rounds of 74-68-68-70 on his scorecard to finish tied for 18th and earn an invitation to the 2015 playing. Four Canadians, two New Yorkers, one Caifornian and one Floridian were successful in 2014. On the other side of the razor’s edge, seven golfers tied at 69 and were completely shut out of the tournament.
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| Patrick Sheedy | Daniel Yustin |
BuffaloGolfer.com took a look into its crystal ball and came out with these eight names as most likely to succeed on Monday. If we get one right, we’ll smile. More than three correct and we’ll grin from ear to ear. Five or better and we’ll wonder what was in the toast we had for breakfast. Here goes:
Ben Reichert…On a roll from high school state to International Junior Masters.
Marc Holzhauer…IJM champion. Might be the beginning of a roll.
Desmond Stoll…knows what it takes. Monday-qualified for Monroe Invitational earlier this month.
Jacob Kreuz…another local (like Yustin and Stoll) who played at Monroe.
Billy Hanes…the local mid-am joins his NYSGA partner, Jamie Miller, in the main event.
Nicholas Ross…the Canadian makes it two pre-qualifiers in a row and seeks to improve on t69 finish at 2014 PC.
Gajan Sivabalasingham…University of Waterloo golfer punches his ticket to the 57th annual Porter Cup
Francesco Ruffino…University of South Florida golfers gains entry.
Tee sheet for qualifier is here.
