July 23, 2018 at 8:53 p.m.
Decker, Longbella share lead following opening round of Wisconsin State Am
Decker, Longbella share lead following opening round of Wisconsin State Am
After 18 holes of golf there is a tie atop the leaderboard as Middleton's Johnny Decker and Thomas Longbella of Chippewa Falls both finished the first round with a 66 and 6-under par.
Decker was hovering around the lead all morning, battling back with Samuel Anderson, who ended the first day tied for third, just a stroke off the lead. Decker, however, came up with four birdies on the back nine.
"I was hitting it really good off the tee, putting myself in good position to find the fairways and keep it in front of me as much as I could," Decker said. "The course was in great shape. WSGA did a fantastic job setting it up today. I think the course fits my game pretty well."
Meanwhile, Longbella finished strong, coming from a stroke behind to tying for the lead after earning birdies on three of his final four holes.
For the round, he came up with just one bogey, while registering birdies on five of his last nine holes.
"I just kinda stuck to my game plan, played aggressively and hit some good shots," Longbella said. "I hit a really good bogey shot on eight. It was kind of a momentum boost because I wasn't in a very good spot and I was able to hit it within a couple feet."
The field's most famous entrant, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, teed off in the second flight and struggled a bit on the back nine.
Romo came up with bogies on three of his last nine holes, but had a birdie on the ninth and final hole to finish the day three-over par without ever having played the course.
"You're just not committed over the shots because you don't know where trouble is," Romo said. "Then just trying to learn the speed of the greens, the firmness and that stuff, but as the day went on, I started to get comfortable and hopefully that'll carry over to tomorrow."
Eau Claire's Ryan Isaacson finished the first round strong to move into a tie for third with Anderson, while Brock Hlinak and George Kneiser each shot 4-under par for the day.
For player with local connections, Lakeland Union High School golf coach Scott Howard ended the first round with a 74, which tied him for 38th, while Timber Ridge qualifying champion Michael Kowaleski, Jr. struggled with his short game to finish nine-over par.
Rhinelander golfers Ben Opsal and Josh Willis each shot 6-over 78s Monday while Kass Schoppe shot 80.
Minocqua Country Club President and club champion John Hogan finished 10-over par, while MCC pro shop assistant Drew Zimmerman posted an 84.
The second round continues on Tuesday, with the first two groups teeing off at 7:30 a.m.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @NickSabatoLT.
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