Woolf Maintains Lead at North Amateur
McKinney, TX – Travis Woolf uses a second consecutive 1-under par 71 to maintain his position on top of the North Amateur leaderboard after Round 2 at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club – Dye Course. Christopher Wheeler shoots an even par 72 good for 2-over par for the tournament and trails Woolf by four heading into the final Round.
Woolf, of Fort Worth, extended his lead at the North Amateur after carding his second 1-under 71 of the week at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club. He tallied a total of four birdies, including a front nine (his back nine) 2-under par 34.
Mother Nature had her eyes set on Stonebridge Ranch Country Club during Round 2 which halted play for over two hours. Due to heavy rain that saturated the golf course overnight and continued rain throughout much of the morning, the TGA Rules Committee had to suspend play as the course had become unplayable.
This rain delay seemed to help Woolf on his round. After carding two early bogeys on the back nine, Woolf birdied his first hole after play was resumed on the 412 yard par 4, 1st. After bogeying the par 5 3rd, Woolf added another birdie on four and six.
Sitting four shots back of Woolf is Christopher Wheeler, of Addison.. After carding a 2-over par 74 in the first round, Wheeler kept it clean with an even par 72 in round 2.
Starting on the front nine, Wheeler started off clean with a lone birdie on the short 514 yard par 5, 7th. After bogeying 10 and 11, he added his second birdie on the day on the 539 yard par 5, 13th.
The final member of the last group that will go off at 9:30 AM tomorrow is McKinney’s own, Jay Csipkes. Csipkes used his own 1-under par 71 to grab the final spot in the last pairing tomorrow. He carded a total of five birdies in his second round and will look to gain ground tomorrow on Woolf.
The low round of the day (and tournament) belongs to past North Amateur Champion, John Stollenwerck. Stollenwerck shot a 2-under 70 to sit six shots back on the lead. He won the 2014 North Amateur at The Courses at Watters Creek in Plano, TX.
Located in McKinney, a suburb in North Dallas, Stonebridge Ranch Country Club – Dye Course is hosting the Texas Golf Associations North Regional Amateur for the first time since the Regional Series inception in 2003. Opening in 1988, Stonebridge Ranch Country Club was designed by the great Pete Dye. Known for his Signature Golf Courses, the Dye Course offers challenging play along with the renewing qualities of the beauty that surrounds it. Stonebridge Ranch Country Club has been named “Best of Private Clubs” in 2017 Avid Golfer and has recently converted to MiniVerde greens with new bunker reconstruction.
A Part of the TGA’s North Regional Series, the North Amateur is the fourth and final regional event for 2018. The other three events, the North Four-Ball, North Mid-Amateur, and North Senior were all contested earlier on in the spring. Players must reside in the northern part of Texas (31st parallel, Salado, TX) to be able to compete in the 54-hole tournament. Applicants must also have a certified GHIN Handicap of 8.4 or less. Players finishing in the top three (and ties) after Sunday’s round, who are not already exempt, and within the top ten will receive an exemption in the 110th Texas Amateur Championship at Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas.
The final round of the North Amateur at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club will start at 8:00 AM off #1 and #10 tees. Woolf, Wheeler, and Csipkes will bring up the rear as they tee off at 9:30 AM off #1. For more information on the North Amateur, please click here.