July 25, 2018 at 3:18 p.m.
Eichhorn leads halfway through State Am
Eichhorn leads halfway through State Am
By Jeremy Mayo & Nick Sabato-
Following a barrage of low rounds Monday, Minocqua Country Club bit back Tuesday with some help from the gusty afternoon winds. The player least affected by the conditions was Hunter Eichhorn of Carney, Mich., who was the only player in the field to post two rounds in the 60s. He leads at the halfway point of the tournament.
Eichhorn, a junior-to-be on the Marquette University men's golf team, followed an opening round 69 with a near flawless round of 68 Tuesday to get to 7-under for the championship, two shots ahead of Chippewa Falls native Thomas Longbella.
"I kind of just stuck to the same game plan as yesterday," Eichhorn said afterward. "I guess I scored one better. I knew, after yesterday, I had to shoot a number. I still didn't expect to be in the lead. It was kind of surprising to see I was in the lead, but I'll take it."
Like many of the leaders, Eichhorn played in Monday morning's wave. He was on the course again Tuesday afternoon, which became a struggle as winds intensified toward the end of the day.
Several players who were near the top of the leaderboard fell back down the stretch Tuesday. That group included Longbella, who shared the 18-hole lead with Middleton's Johnny Decker following opening round 66s. Longbella was at 9-under late in the second round thanks to eagles on the par-5 first and 12th holes, but found trouble down the stretch. He made a triple bogey on the difficult par-3 16th and closed with a bogey on 18 to finish the day with a 73 and at 5-under for the championship.
"Honestly, I don't know. I hit a pretty good shot on 16 that ended up in a terrible spot. That was unfortunate, I just picked the wrong club and ended up making triple," Longbella, a junior-to-be on the University of Minnesota golf team. "I don't know. I hit the ball well all day and I'm not going to let it affect me. It's a long tournament. We have two days left."
The same could be said for a couple of current and former Wisconsin Badgers - Decker and Samuel Anderson. Decker had it to 7-under overall after an eagle at the first, his 10th hole of the day, but gave a shot back on the second and played his final four holes in 4-over to finish with a 76. He's currently in a tie for ninth at minus-2.
Anderson, meanwhile, had it to 6-under with three holes to play but made a double bogey on 16 and tripled to 18th to fall into a tie for 12th at minus-1.
That was the story of the day on a course that played a half-stroke tougher on day two than it did on day one.
Three players sit in a three-way tie for third at 4-under through 36 holes. They include Brookfield's Harrison Ott, Onalaska's Joe Weber and Kaukauna's Brock Hlinak.
"It's always fun when you're playing well and competing against the best players in the state," said Hlinak, a senior-to-be at Kaukauna High School. "I'm going to look forward to the next two days here and, hopefully, give 'er a run at the title."
Hlinak finished tied for third at the WIAA Division 1 state golf tournament this spring. The D1 state champ, Piercen Hunt from Arrowhead High School, is part of a three-way tie for sixth at minus-3.
The player with the most attention heading into the tournament, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, more than held his own during the first two days. He bounced back from an opening round 75 to shoot 71 Tuesday to sit at 2-over for the tournament in a tie for 19th.
"I hit the ball really well, I hit every fairway and I think I missed one green," Romo said after the second round. "So we had a chance to go real low, but three three-putts kept me from going real low."
Seventy players exactly made the cut, which fell at 9-over-par. One player going home early is defending champion Matt Tolan who shot matching 77s over the first two days to miss the cut by a stroke. Meanwhile the leaders all had confidence going into was figured to be a potentially weather-affected final two days. Wednesday's tee times were moved ahead 30 minutes due to the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. Cool, breezy and potentially rainy conditions were in the forecast for Thursday.
"This golf course, you can make a lot of birdies but, every single hole, there's double or worse out there," said Weber, a native of Antigo. "I'll just keep playing my game, taking it one swing at a time and see how it turns out."
Added Eichhorn, "The last two days give me a lot of confidence. I've been doing everything the way I want to. I'll just keep doing that and see where that gets me."
Visit www.RiverNewsOnline.com and www.LakelandTimes.com for daily recaps from the tournament.
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