Lynch Atop Packed Leaderboard at Round Hill
GREENWICH, Conn. (May 3, 2021) -- While an even-par 71 from Dennis Lynch of Nassau Players Club held up throughout the day Monday in the season-opening 94th MGA Senior Amateur Championship at Round Hill Club, a packed leaderboard has 19 players entering Tuesday's final round within four shots of the lead.
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Lynch, a two-time MGA Mid-Amateur champion, carded a trio of birdies to offset three bogeys during his morning round. "I just stayed aggressive out there," said Lynch. "I went at almost every flag. I got on in two on the [par-5] 15th and had about 10 feet for eagle, so I made birdie there and was fortunate to make another on the long par-3 [17th]." After his two late birdies, Lynch bogeyed the finishing par-4 18th, which played as the toughest hole of the day, for his level round. "On a course like this, it's important to start strong. You can make a quick double on any of these holes," Lynch explained. "It was good to keep it around par today."
Roddy McRae of Baltusrol had an up-and-down opening nine with three pars, three birdies and three bogeys. He made a bogey on the par-4 10th as he made the turn, but reeled off eight consecutive pars to end his round at 1-over 72.
Reigning LIGA Senior Player of the Year Dave Scialabba of Meadow Brook posted a 2-over 73. “I thought the conditions were very challenging and the pin placements were tough," Scialabba said. "The course set up was fair but difficult.” Scialabba and defending champion Ned Zachar of GlenArbor are the only two players in the field who have tallied three-consecutive top-10 finishes in the MGA Senior Amateur. Scialabba aims to continue that run Tuesday and perhaps make a run at the title after learning more about the Walter Travis layout on Monday. "I'm looking forward to playing tomorrow," said Scialabba. "I didn’t really know the course very well, I only played about 14 holes here a few weeks ago, so I think I learned a few things today that will be useful for tomorrow.”
Marc Coleman of Nassau Players Club posted 2-over 73 for the afternoon's low score. Sitting within two strokes of the lead, Coleman is aiming to finish strong Tuesday. "I want to win, that's my mindset," he said. "I'm going to have to go for it and birdie a lot of holes. These guys are good."
Seven players shot 3-over 74, while nine players including past champions Zachar and Jim Graham of Winged Foot posted 4-over 75s -- all to sit well within striking distance for the final round.
James Miller of Bridgeview Golf Club at Clearview Golf Course made his fourth career hole-in-one during the afternoon, using a 7-iron to ace the par-3 11th hole from 142 yards.
Following Monday's opening round a cut was made to the low 40 scores and ties, with 49 players making the cut at 7-over 78 or better. Tuesday's final round begins at 8:00 a.m., with the final pairing of Lynch and McRae going off at 9:33 a.m.