Zahringer and Courville Advance to Quarterfinals in the 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship
WILMINGTON, DE.-Two Met Area legends, George Zahringer of Deepdale and Jerry Courville, Jr. of Shorehaven advanced to the quarterfinal round of match play at the 23rd U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Wilmington Country Club, Wilmington, DE. The finalists from last year’s Championship both advanced with hard-fought victories in the first, second, and third rounds.
Defending champion Zahringer seemed to be controlling his first round match against Jay Poletiek of Portland, OR as he led the match dormie-2. However, Poletiek battled back and sent the match to an extra hole, where Zahringer won with a par 4. In the second round, Zahringer defeated two-time Walker Cup Team member Duke Delcher of Bluffton, SC with a close 2 & 1 victory. Zahringer qualified for match play as the 52nd seed, with scores of 75 and 72 for a six-over-par total of 147.
2002 runner-up Jerry Courville of Shorehaven won the second hole by three shots in his second round match against Mark Love of Saint Simons Island, GA and never trailed from there. Courville won the 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th holes on the way to his 3 & 2 victory. Courville dominated his second round match with a 6 & 5 victory over Darrin Overson of Provo, UT. Courville qualified for match play as the 23rd seed, with scores of 70 and 75 for a four-over par total of 145.
Austin Eaton formerly of Sterling Farms Men’s, who shot 70 – 77 = 147, and Gary Spector of Seawane, who shot 72 – 76 = 148, also qualified for match play. Spector was one of ten players who qualified in a fourteen-way playoff for the final match-play spots. In the first round, Eaton fell to Paul Winterowd of Murray, UT with a 5 & 3 loss, while Spector was bested by Brian Hughes of Centralia, WA with a 3 & 2 victory.
