Huber Heights teen surges to 3rd-round lead

Defending champ Michael Bernard birdies three of last four holes to reach 4-under.

JOSHUA GUNTER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Michael Bernard birdied three of the final four holes Thursday to take a lead on the Ohio Am.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer Updated 11:29 PM Thursday, July 14, 2011

KETTERING — Michael Bernard stood on the tee at the par-3 15th hole at NCR Country Club’s South Course on Thursday at even par for the third round of the Ohio Amateur Championship.

The 228-yard No. 15 was the most difficult hole Thursday, but the 17-year-old defending champion plopped a 4-iron to eight feet and made the day’s only birdie on the hole.

It was the start of a closing stretch that placed the incoming Wayne High School senior on the verge of another Ohio Amateur fairy tale.

Bernard birdied three of the final four holes to shoot 3-under 68 and lead the 105th playing of the tournament at 4-under after three rounds. Bernard is one shot clear of Dublin’s Michael Cress, a 22-year-old former Ohio State player, and three shots ahead of West Chester’s Korey Ward, a former two-time Ohio high school state champion headed to Xavier in the fall.

Last year, Bernard became the Ohio Amateur’s youngest-ever champion by winning at Willoughby’s Kirtland Country Club. Today, with just Bernard, Cress and Ward under par for the tournament, Bernard will try to become the 10th player to win back-to-back Ohio Ams, a list that includes Arnold Palmer, John Cook and Ben Curtis.

“The thing is, I’ve been getting a little too serious and trying a little too hard,” said Bernard, who has shot rounds of 70, 71 and 68 on the par-71 South Course. “What that ends up doing is making me tight and tense. If I’m relaxed and calm, I can play extremely good.”

Bernard was one of just two players under par on Thursday, along with Dublin’s Logan Jones, who shot 1-under 70 to tie three other players at even par. That group includes Wright State golf coach Pete Samborsky, who shot 2-over 73 on Thursday.

Ward, the leader after two rounds, shot 4-over 75 to fall three shots behind the lead, while Cress carded a 1-over 72 to stay within a shot of Bernard.

“He’s a great player,” Cress said of Bernard. “You gotta expect he’s going to do something special.”

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-7389 or knagel @DaytonDailyNews.com.

Ohio Amateur Championship

NCR Country Club  South Course

Leaderboard

Michael Bernard	70-71-68	-4
Michael Cress	71-67-72	-3
Korey Ward	69-68-75	-1
Kevin Miller	65-74-74	E
Nicholas Scott	72-70-71	E
Logan Jones	68-75-70	E
Pete Samborsky	70-70-73	E