Blake Allen Comes From Behind to Defend KC Amateur Title
Championship Sunday at the Kansas City Amateur was one for the books. At the beginning of the day our top three competitors were Zach Sokolosky (-1), Joe Bultman (-2), and Sam Parrott (-4). Blake Allen had a different plan however, after making the turn with a four-under, front nine of 32. Allen’s birdies on Hole 5, 6, 8, and 9 catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard.
Our final group all made the turn at even par or higher, and Allen found himself with a two-shot lead over Sam Parrott through nine holes. Allen’s run continued on the back nine with another three birdies and a hole-out eagle on the Par-4, 16th hole. Two bogeys would temper the back nine and put Allen in the clubhouse with an amazing seven-under round of 65 and make him the leader in the clubhouse.
Parrott, Sokolosky, and Bultman yet to finish all came in over par for their round on the day. Parrott carded a 76 (+4), Sokolosky a 73 (+2), and Bultman a 76 (+4). Sokolosky and Parrot ended the tournament in a tie for second place with a three-day total of 216 (E). Grant Herrenbruck finished solo fourth place with an even-par third round of 72. Joe Bultman finished out the top five with a three-day total of 218. Justin Wingerter finished as our low junior of the tournament with a three-day total of 219 (+3).
Blake Allen’s great round of 65, the second lowest round of the tournament, gave him a seven-shot victory and his second, consecutive Kansas City Amateur title with a three-day total of 209 (-7).
Steve Grooms Wins Yet Another KC Amateur Senior Title
Steve Groom held on to his lead heading into day three of the KC Amateur. Despite a double bogey on 18, Groom’s two birdies helped card him a round of 75 (+3) and secured him another KC Amateur Senior title – a title he’s won at least 6 times. Jay Gregory made the biggest move of the day with a one-under round of 71 to get in the clubhouse with a 228 (+12). Groom followed in with a good round to win the title by four strokes with a 224 total (+8).
Don Kuehn Wins Legend Division by 8 Strokes
Don Kuehn followed up his great second round of 68, with another solid round of 72 (E). Kuehn had six birdies on the day that offset a couple mistakes to end with a 72 and win the Legends division by 8 strokes over Bob Bezek. Bezek had a great tournament with rounds of 72, 78, and 76 to finish at solo second with a 226 (+10). David Hornaday finished in third place with rounds of 75, 70, and 83 (228).
Derryck Curchin Wins First KC Amateur Players Title
Curchin put up his second-best round of the tournament with a 76 to secure his victory over Mark Pesek by three strokes. Curchin’s round was highlighted by two birdies on the day and gave him a three-day total of 231. Mark Pesek followed closely behind with rounds of 75, 83, 76 to finish solo second with 234.
It was a great finish for the 2019 KC Amateur Championship, and we wish a congratulations to all of our winners today. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible and we hope to see everyone back at Creekmoor next year at the end of July for the 2020 KC Amateur Championship!
Moving Day Brings New Leader, Parrot, at KC Amateur
Round two of the KC Amateur saw a lot of shakeups at the top of the leaderboard, including a new leader in the clubhouse.
After shooting an eight-under, 64, Zach Sokolosky struggled a little today and carded a seven-over, 79, for a two-day total of 143 (-1). Sam Parrott, who began the day tied for second at three under, shot a one-under round of 71 that featured a double bogey and three birdies. Parrot’s two-day total of 140 (-4) was enough to give him the lead heading into Sunday by two strokes.
Joe Bultman led a big charge on day two with the low round for the day of four under (68). With only one bogey and five birdies, Bultman shot up the leaderboard with a two-day total of 142 (-2) and in second place. Sokolosky is only three shots back and in solo third place heading into Championship Sunday.
Zach VanDolah and Blake Allen are tied for fourth at even par, 144. VanDolah shot a one-under, 71, to get himself into contention and only four shots back. Defending champion, Blake Allen, is also only four shots back after a one-over, 73.
Ryne Fisher tied for the low round of the day with Joe Bultman after shooting a 68 (-4) after two bogeys and six birdies. Fisher’s round was good enough to shoot himself up the leaderboard and into tied for eighth and six shots back.
Overall, eight players carded an under-par round on day two and only three players currently sit in the red after two days. The cut for the Open was determined by the low 36 and ties to advance to Sunday and play for the title.
Steve Groom Leads Senior Division
Steve Groom had the second lowest round of the day with a three-over, 75 to make his two-day total of 149 to lead the Senior division by one stroke over John Scarsella. Scarsella’s up and down round of three birdies, five bogeys and a double for 76 has him in second place over Mark Addington by one stroke. Addington had a two-over, 74, to add to his day one, 77, for a total of 151. All three players are no stranger to KCGA competitions and it will be a close finish tomorrow for Championship Sunday.
Hornaday and Curchin Hope to Hold on in Legends & Players
David Hornaday shot a two-under round of 70 to complete his two-day total of 145 (+1) and find himself on top of the leaderboard thanks to five birdies and three bogeys. Don Kuehn shot himself into contention with a four-under round of 68 that was bogey-free and put him in solo second at 146 (+2). Bob Bezek and Thomas Leonard sit tied for third at a two-day total of 150.
Derryck Curchin leads the Players division by three strokes with rounds of 75 & 80 (155). Mark Pesek is in close second place with rounds of 75 & 83 (158).
All divisions will play tomorrow morning starting at 8:00 am. Live scoring will be available through the Golf Genius app using 19KCAM or on our KCGA homepage.
It’s going to be an exciting finish!
Sokolosky Cards Bogey-Free 64 to Lead Day One at KC Amateur
The 2019 Kansas City Amateur kicked off on Friday July 26th at the Golf Club of Creekmoor in Raymore, Missouri with 140 players competing in four different divisions: the Open, Players, Seniors and Legends.
91 players consisted of the Open division, gross-only division playing from approximately 7,000 yards in windy conditions. 3 players carded even-par rounds of 72, sitting at tied for seventh: Mark Terranova, Justin Wingerter, and Matt Kelley. Only 6 players carded an under-par round for the first day of competition. Grant Grego, Grant Herrenbruck, and defending champion Blake Allen all tied for fourth with rounds of one-under, 71. Between the three players, eight bogeys were carded on the day and ten birdies. Grego’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the Par-5, 5th hole.
Tied for second after Round 1 was Brent Mertz and Sam Parrott, who both shot three-under, 69. Both Parrot and Mertz finished with five birdies on their round and two bogeys. The leader in the clubhouse came from Zach Sokolosky, Kansas University golfer, who carded an amazing round of 64 (-8), tying the course record in a competition round. Sokolosky’s bogey-free round featured eight birdies, five of them coming on the back nine. Sokolosky has a five shot lead and tees off at 1:21 pm on day two.
Brett Allen Leads Senior Division
18 players battled it out in the Senior division, a gross-only scoring division for players 50 and older playing from approximately 6600 yards. The low round of the day came from Brett Allen with a one-over, 73 that featured three bogeys and two birdies. John Scarsella and Steve Groom tied for second with two-over, 74’s.
Bezek Shoots Even Par for Low Round in Legends Division
15 players comprised the Legends division, a gross and net scoring division for players 60 and older that played from approximately 6,000 yards. Bob Bezek leads the Legends division after an even-par, 72 round that featured four birdies, two bogeys and a double. David Hornaday and Tom Freitag both carded rounds of 3-over, 75, to tie for second.
Tie for First in Players Division
16 players made up the Players division, a gross and net scoring division that played from about 6600 yards. After round one, the Players division saw a tie for first. Derryck Curchin and Mark Pesek both shot three-over rounds of 75. Curchin’s round was highlighted by three birdies. Pesek had two birdies on his round as well. Brian Moeller and Thai Hong tied for third with rounds of 81.
Round Two begins Saturday, July 27th at 7:30 am and will go until 2:51 pm. Follow along with live scoring using the Golf Genius app and 19KCAM or with the portal here! Following round two, a cut in each division will be made for Sunday. In the Open division, the top 36 and ties will move on to Sunday. In the Seniors and Players, the top 12 and ties will advance and the top 9 and ties will make Sunday in the Legends division.