Brian Maurer holds clubhouse lead in Spring Hill Classic
Vargas, Wheeldon T2, one shot back
Tifton, Ga. – (February 28, 2013) – On a day when only 18 players that completed the first round broke par, Brian Maurer turned in one of his best rounds on the NGA TOUR to take the early lead in the Spring Hill Classic.
Brian Maurer
Maurer, a Ball State alumnus from Richmond, Ind., posted six birdies and one bogey at Spring Hill Country Club in the first round en route to a 5-under 66 and the clubhouse lead in the $200,000 event. Maurer, the 2009 Ball State Most Valuable Player, is playing in his 49th event and searching for his first victory.
James Vargas and Riley Wheeldon were also able to somewhat tame the tight, 6,850-yard layout in the opening round, shooting 4-under 67s on Thursday. Vargas, a former University of Florida golfer from Miami, made the turn at even par before posting four birdies on the inward nine. Wheeldon, a former Louisville Cardinal from Comox, Canada, carded five birdies and one bogey in the first round.
Rookies Hunter Harmrick and Peter Malnati were 3-under par and tied for fourth when play was suspended on Thursday evening.
After a bogey on the opening hole, Hamrick, a former University of Alabama All-American from Montgomery, Ala., birdied five of his next seven holes and finished his front nine at 4-under par. The 2012 U.S. Open competitor, however, posted three bogeys and only two birdies on the backside to finish with a 68.
In his NGA TOUR debut, Malnati, a former University of Missouri golfer from Dandridge, Tenn., recorded five birdies and two bogeys in the first round of play to join Hamrick on the first page of the leaderboard.
A week after finishing second at Killearn, Trent Whitekiller of Sallisaw, Okla., kept up his solid play. The former Oklahoma State golfer posted four birdies and two bogeys in the first round and was 2-under par and tied for sixth with NGA TOUR veterans Justin Hueber, Kelvin Day, Paul Apyan, Ken Looper and 2011 Web.com Tour member Travis Bertoni.
Like Whitekiller, last week’s winner Clayton Rask seems to have carried some momentum into the Spring Hill Classic. Rask, a former Minnesota Golden Gopher from Otsego, Minn., finished the day 1-under par and tied for 12th with Ben Silverman, Seath Lauer, Bo Hoag, Oscar Stark, Brett Munson and T.J. Bordeaux.
Both the conclusion of the first round and the start of the second round at Spring Hill Country Club will begin at 8:15 a.m. on Friday. As always, admission is free to the public.
The NGA Pro Golf Tour is the No. 3 Men’s Professional Golf Tour in the United States after the PGA and Web.com Tours and is the No. 1 recommended developmental tour by more PGA and Web.com Tour Professionals.
The NGA has helped hundreds of professionals acquire their PGA TOUR, Euro, Web.com, and Champions Tour cards. In fact, NGA alumni have won an incredible Fifteen (15) “Major” Championships.
NGA alumni include: 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson; 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley; 2010 PGA TOUR Player of the Year and 2003 US Open Champion Jim Furyk; 2009 British Open Champion Stewart Cink; 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover; 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson; 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel; 2003 British Open Champion Ben Curtis; two-time U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen; British Open and PGA Champion John Daly; British Open Champion Tom Lehman; PGA Champion David Toms; 2003 Tour Championship Winner Chad Campbell; 2010 NGA Player of the Year Michael Thompson; 2012 PGA TOUR winners Mark Wilson, George McNeill, Ted Potter Jr., Scott Stallings and Scott Piercy.
The NGA Pro Golf Tour, established in 1988, predates the Web.com Tour as the longest running developmental tour in golf. In 2012, the NGA TOUR became the “Official Partner of the 2012 Reno-Tahoe Open” and secured one PGA TOUR and six Web.com Tour event exemptions for its members, the most in developmental golf.
For more information on the NGA or the NGA Pro Golf Tour, please visit our website at www.NGATOUR.com or contact our Tour Office at (800) 992-8748.
About The Author
