Bleumink shares leads at Players Amateur
BY Anthony Powter | US Mens Amateur Tour | 2009 Players Amateur | Round Two | 11 Jul 2009
Luke Bleumink is in a three-way tie for the lead following the second day of play at the prestigious Players Amateur Tournament at the Belfair Golf Club in Bluffton, South Carolina.
Bleumink is at 3-under-par along with Americans Daniel Woltman and Bud Cauley. All three players combined a first day 69 with a second day 72.
Yesterday’s first round was suspended due to storms and lighting with only 16 of 40 pairings being able to complete their round. Bleumink was in one of the groups that completed their opening round with the 2008 Victorian Amateur Champion finishing the day in a tie for 2nd with a three-under-par 69, a stroke behind overnight leader, Phillip Mollica.
Today, the rest of the field were forced to combined their two opening rounds to bring the tournament schedule back into line.
“It was a tough day at the office out there,” said Bleumink, who fired three birdies and three bogeys for his even par round of 72.
“The wind was gusty, which made the greens particularly firm and hard to stop the ball on. The scoring obviously showed that with not many players breaking par.”
Daniel Nisbet is the next placed Australian behind Bleumink in a tie for 9th at 1-over-par and just four behind the leaders. Tarquin Macmanus is a stroke behind Nisbet in a tie for 12th at 2-over-par after starting the round in a tie for 24th when the Queenslander opened with a 4-over-par 76, whilst Daniel Beckmann rounds out the top-20, with 77-71 to be at 4-over-par. Augusta State player, Mitch Krywulycz has fired a 74 and 75 to be in a tie for 27th.
In only his second start this season in the US, Bleumink was obviously pleased with his opening efforts in South Carolina despite experiencing difficulties with reading the greens throughout his opening two rounds.
“Coming from Victoria, I’m not use to these Bermuda greens,” says Bleumink.
“If I can get the ball rolling and make up a few shots around the greens, I should do well over the next two rounds. We come over here to test where we are at and this is an incredible tournament. To be where I am is very pleasing.”
Michael Smyth started the second round in a tie for 20th after an opening 75 but a disappointing second round 76 has pushed the NSW Amateur Champion back to be in a tie for 37th, whilst the remaining Australians Jordan Sherratt and Ryan McCarthy are well down in the field after Sherratt fired rounds of 78-77, whilst McCarthy carded 77-80.
Bleumink has moved right into contention in this tournament and with the Players Amateur considered one of the main US amateur tournaments this season and a start in a main tour event in the PGA Tour, there’s a lot at stake in the championship. A powerful player of the ball, Bleumink will be dangerous during tomorrow’s third round. He has the benefit of forcing the field to try and make up ground on a layout that’s not receptive to breakaway scores.
“No one is shooting the lights out of this course,” he says.
“I said to Daniel [Beckmann] earlier in the week that 10-under would win this given the way the course is playing. It’s tough and I’ll be trying to just hang in there and keep scoring around par or lower. That should work, yet with the depth of the fields here, anything can happen.”
