Kent State golfer’s 65 puts him ahead of field

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By Bucky Albers, Contributing Writer Updated 1:41 AM Wednesday, July 13, 2011

DAYTON — Round 1 of the Ohio Amateur was 30 minutes from finishing, and it appeared that the only players who would break par at NCR Country Club were the five who had done it in the morning — Logan Jones, Jay Overy, Korey Ward, Pete Samborsky and Michael Bernard.

More than 50 players had completed rounds in the afternoon without getting it done. People were beginning to think that the oven-like heat and hardening greens were making subpar scores impossible.

Then 20-year-old Kevin Miller put that theory to rest. Shortly after 7 p.m. the Kent State University junior from Dover turned in a scorecard that showed seven birdies and one bogey for a six-under-par 65 that gave him a three-stroke lead over Jones and Overy, who had 68s.

“My putter was pretty much red hot today,” Miller said. “I was making everything, including a couple of nice, long, 30-foot putts. That helped.”

Miller allowed that he is “a pretty solid putter. I usually don’t make my lag putts as I did a few times today.”

He said his playing partners, one of whom shot 88, didn’t say much. “They were pretty much shocked when I started making them.”

Miller chipped in from beside the green on the par 3 second hole to get his round going but bogeyed No. 3 after a “sloppy chip.” Then he birdied Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 8, sinking a 40-footer at No. 8. He also birdied the two par 3s on the back nine with putts of 35 and 15 feet.

Twice the medalist in the Division III state high school tournament while playing for Garaway High School in Sugarcreek, Miller is not surprised to be leading.

“I knew if I played my game (hitting fairways and greens) I could be in contention in the last round,” he said. “This will help.”

Defending champ in hunt: Bernard, the Wayne High School senior from Huber Heights who won last year’s Ohio Am, was paired with Samborsky, the Wright State University golf coach. Both of them shot 70.

Stormy weather: The NCR Country Club maintenance crew had to do quite a bit of cleanup work before play began because Monday night’s storm left light debris all over the course.

“We had two fairway blowers and a lot of backpack blowers out there,” course superintendent Jim Campion said. “We only got four-tenths of an inch of rain. The storm at 8 o’clock kinda spun around us.”

Late addition: John Sherman of Dayton, the first alternate, got into the tournament at the last minute when two-time champ Randy Reifers had to withdraw because of an unexpected business obligation.

“I told him I’d represent him well,” Sherman said. “I don’t know if he’d be happy with a 74, but I am.”

Keeping pace: The tournament committee implemented a pace of play regulation for the first time, requiring each group to finish play of each nine holes in 2:15.

The result was that the longest round was played in 4:40.

One threesome was penalized a stroke for each player but tournament director Jim Popa rescinded the penalty after they appealed.

Most of the players welcomed the regulation.

Nick Scott of Union, who played in the first group, said, “We’re used to it in AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) events. They have a pace of play rule that’s stricter than this.”

Lurking behind leader: Korey Ward, a two-time Ohio high school state champion from Lakota West High School, shot 69 without the aid of a practice round.

The 19-year-old Ward came in from a tournament in West Virginia, teed it up and surrounded two bogeys with four birdies for fourth, one stroke behind Logan Jones of Dublin and Jay Overy, who will be a senior at Ashland University.

Playing at 8:10 a.m. in the second group off the first tee, Overy didn’t expect to lead the event at day’s end.

“There’s a lot of good players put there,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was someone lower than 68. I don’t think that’s going to hold up. The greens are soft and really great to putt on. I’m expecting something around a 65.”

He hit it right on the nose.

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