Porter Cup 2019: Round One Review
6-under par took the lead, but potential for lower scores exists!Ryoto Furuya of Tampa, Florida, posted the low Wednesday round at the 2019 Porter Cup. His 6-under par 64 places him 1 shot clear of 3 golfers. 23 golfers broke par on the Niagara Falls country club course during round one, an indication of low scores throughout the week. After the rains of spring, temperatures and sun concentration have not allowed the course to bake toward fast and firm. As a result, the turf and grass are lush and springy, receptive to well-struck shots. The rough is not so thick as to be unmanageable, and recovery shots from the longish blades are able to hold greens.
Furuya opened his round with birdies at 1 and 3. He added 6 more, in 3-hole bursts. The Floridian opened the back nine with 3 consecutive birdies, and closed it that way as well. Note to readers: holes 16-18 might be regarded as the NFCC version of Calamity Corner, the late stretch of holes at Royal Portrush that proved to be the undoing of many golfers in the 2019 Open Championship last week. To birdie the set is, well, the stuff of legends. Only bogeys at 8 and 13 kept Furuya from a score in the low 60s.
Tied for 2nd are Austin Hitt (Florida), Josh Whalen (Ontario) and Peter Knade (Maryland.) Hitt opened his round birdie-birdie-eagle, reaching 4-under par by the time he arrived at the 4th tee. He birdied the 6th to reach -5, bogeyed, 7, then birdied 8 and 9 to go out in 29, a course record for the front nine. Hitt cooled off on the inward half, with 2 bogeys and 1 birdie adding up to 36, and a score of 65.
If Knade had paired with Hitt, they might have come in with 59. The Ocean State product began his inward half with an eagle 2 at the drivable par four 10th. The tees were moved up, in the 320-yard range, to give Porter Cuppers a chance to drive the green. Knade did just that, and holed his putt for a deuce. He added consecutive birdies at 13-15, to post 30 on the inward half. Whalen was a mix of the two. He began with 3 consecutive birdies, a stroke behind Hitt’s electric start. He also eagled the 10th, like Knade. On the day, Whalen had 5 birdies, 1 eagle, and 2 bogies.
Five golfers came in with scores of 3-under 67. Seven more signed for 68, including East Amherst’s Ben Reichert. Another seven competitors reached -1 on the day. The tournament continues on Thursday, with tee times running from 7:30 am to 12:20 pm. See all scores here on the Golf Genius site. For tee times, click here.
A Slice Of Myrtle: Pawley’s Island, South Carolina
Pawleys Island, SC – The Myrtle Beach/Grand Strand area is a 60 mile stretch of coast line that is home to almost 100 top-ranked courses so choosing a handful to play can be a tough decision. On this trip we ventured to the very south end of the Grand Strand to...
Gone Too Soon: The Joy & Sadness of Mike Strantz (Part Two)
Originally posted on 2/23/2011 at 1:28 am. Many of the philosophies espoused by MacKenzie serve as the bedrock fundamentals incorporated by Strantz. Where Strantz seems to earn his “maverick” label is through his flair for creating dramatic holes & courses unlike...
Gone Too Soon: The Joy & Sadness of Mike Strantz (Part One)
Originally published on 2/23/2011 at 1:27 am. With the density of sad stories or horrible events that saturate our news coverage, it is easy to become desensitized to the grief that is reported. The “matter of fact” delivery of such stories lends itself to an...
Tom’s Featured Tip: Basic Wrist Movements and Positions
======================= Tom's Featured Tip: Basic Wrist Movements and Positions For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do! I decided to write about wrist movements...
Tom’s Bonus Tip: Putting – Flip The Switch
Tom's Bonus Tip: Putting - Flip The Switch For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do! Count me as one of those guys that is chatting it up on the green every now and...
Scrambled Thoughts – Pebble Beach Wrap-Up
Several random musings from the Scrambler from the weekend: Mickelson and Woods - One Picture Says It All It's been almost 17 months since the last Phil/Tiger Pairing, but Sunday at Pebble Beach sent TV Ratings skyward. And viewers saw two men at vastly...
Team USA Ryder Cup: Aged Hubris Is Pathetic
I grew up wanting to be Tom Watson. I knew that he won and he did so with a puckish, gap-toothed smile. Kind of a Huck Finn-type of thing. This was in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Watson played on US Ryder Cup teams. In the 1990s, he was in his 50s and became...
Best Holes in WNY – 3 Hole Checkpoint Features
The "Best Holes in WNY" series seems to be a hit among our readers. We've had more volume and poll participation than any other series we've ran, so we're taking this opportunity to add some features. Every three holes, we plan on incorporating the...
Best in WNY – “Honorable Mention” Poll: Holes 1-3
The votes have been tallied among the nominees for holes 1-3. But you couldn't vote for any of the holes that were "snubbed" by the Nomination Committee... .....until now. Below are the holes that were deemed worthy of consideration, but overlooked in the...
A Flaw In The USGA’s US Open Plans
It was announced this week by the United States Golf Association that Pinehurst #2 will be set up to encourage the men and the women to hit similar clubs into greens. If you've been under a big, sound-proofed umbrella for five years, here's some news: the US Opens...
Best Holes in WNY: Scrambler’s Omission Series #3
You may note that I left out the word "Glaring" from this edition's title, as I think our nominees are pretty stout. We'd love for people to leave some comments as to why they enjoy their particular holes. But more importantly, let us know which holes we...
Tom’s Featured Tip: Hitting It Lower
=========================== Tom's Featured Tip: Hitting It Lower For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do! Trajectory Control Many players watch the pros launch...
Come on In!
Weekdays
08PM -12AM
Weekends
12 PM – 02 AM
Contact
Phone
+(000) 111 222 333
address@domain.com
Address
543 TN, doula street
NY, New York
