The Watson Challenge began Thursday morning at the Nicklaus Golf Club at Lionsgate. The field comprised of 47 men and one woman, are competing to determine the best golfer in Kansas City.
Leading the field at four-under-par are Davis Cooper, Michael Winslow, and Robert Russell.
Cooper won the Challenge in 2022 and holds a home course advantage as a member at Lionsgate. Cooper carded an early double bogey in his round but wasn’t concerned “I knew I still had four par fives left on the day so I wasn’t too stressed about it”, he said after going on to make eight birdies during the round.
Russell, who also holds a home course advantage as the Head Golf Professional at Lionsgate, had an impressive round today. After an unfortunate bogey on the par-three-eighth hole, Russell holed out for an eagle on nine; “I knew it was going to be good, but I never dreamed it would be in the hole,” Russell said.
M. Winslow, a Junior on the Wichita State University Golf Team, also shot 68 today. Winslow carded five birdies on the front nine this morning on holes two, four, five, six, and seven. The key to his success? “I putted the ball really well today and my wedges were really good,” Winslow said.
Players to watch going into Friday’s round include David Jenkins who shot 69 (-3). Will King, Sean Dougherty, Michael Letzig, and Julian Taylor all are tied for fifth after shooting 70 (-2). Joseph Winslow and Austin Jarchow shot 71 (-1) to round out the top 10.
Round two begins at 7:30 AM Friday morning.
Pairings, Live Scoring, and Results can be found here >>
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