Eisenhower: Hume leads Irish fightback on scorching day two in Mexico
Stuart Grehan of Ireland, plays his second shot from a greenside bunker at the par 3 15th hole, during the second round of the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy at Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Riviera Maya, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
Jack Hume recovered from a two shot penalty and a double bogey six on his opening hole to keep Irish medal hopes on life support in the World Amateur Team Championships in Mexico
The Naas ace rallied to card a two under 70 at Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club and while Paul McBride shot a one over 73 (and Stuart Grehan a discarded 75), Ireland only fell to tied sixth, 12 shots behind runaway leaders Australia but only three shots behind third placed Switzerland.
“The conditions were extremely difficult with the wind and the heat today, which we didn’t have yesterday, but overall I’m pleased with the performance," said Irish captain, Tony Goode.
“It didn’t look good early on, but they fought back and showed great spirit and dedication. They demonstrated great character, as it wasn’t looking great, particularly when Jack had a two shot penalty. Hopefully this is our bad day.
“We’ll take each round one at a time and sit down with each player for a chat tonight and decide on the strategy for tomorrow.”
Australia vaulted to an eight-stroke lead as Harrison Endycott and Cameron Davis each fired 5-under 66s at the other course being used for the week, the Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club.
The Australians, who began the day one stroke behind first-round leader Scotland, posted a 10-under 132 at Mayakoba.
Australia’s two-round total of 19-under-par 267 is one off the WATC record established by the USA in 2012. Curtis Luck, the 2016 U.S. Amateur champion, added a non-counting even-par 71. The best two scores from each country’s three-man team are used.
“The mindset was to be as competitive as we can,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler, whose team also equaled the lowest second-round score in WATC history. “You talk about having an opportunity to win. If we play well, we have a chance to win, so that has been our focus.”
Endycott, who has won this year’s Porter Cup and was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Amateur, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to cap his team’s performance. He used an 8-iron to set up two of his six birdies at Nos. 9 and 15, but his play was propelled by a run of four consecutive birdies on his inward nine in the first round.
“That was a huge confidence booster,” Endycott said. “Yesterday things weren’t going my way early on. I just wasn’t hitting good shots, and I was struggling to get feels. Making a few good putts from good positions says you can go do this.”
Davis, who finished second in both the Asia-Pacific Amateur and Australian Amateur last year, recorded seven birdies on his scorecard for the second consecutive day. He birdied Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 on his outward nine and has the best 36-hole individual score at 10 under after opening with a 67 at the par-72, 6,888-yard/6,386-meter Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.
Stuart Grehan of Ireland, plays his tee shot at the par 3 15th hole, during the second round of the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy at Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Riviera Maya, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
“We are full of confidence,” Endycott added. “We all believe in the three of us. As long we keep building that momentum like we are doing at the moment, it is going to be a good week.”
Maverick McNealy, who won the 2016 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked amateur player, reeled off five consecutive birdies on his inward nine at Iberostar to advance the USA into second place at 11-under 275. McNealy, a first-team All-American at Stanford University, and Scottie Scheffler, a junior at the University of Texas, each carded 3-under 69s. Scheffler also closed well with birdies on three of his last five holes.
“We had a nice finish with Maverick making five in a row on the back nine, and we’re very pleased,” said USA captain Paul Caruso. “There was a little bit of weather and wind at the start, but once it calmed down, we played good golf.”
The USA appeared to be fading midway through the round in its quest to win its third consecutive WATC championship. McNealy, who was the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year for a second time, started on No. 10 and bogeyed three of his opening four holes.
“I got off to an atrocious start, so Brad (Dalke) came over and gave me a little pep-talk,” McNealy said. “I feel like I played really solidly after those first four holes. I’m glad I managed to hold the round together.”
Switzerland moved into third at 10-under 276 with an array of closing birdies and an eagle at Mayakoba. Jeremy Freiburghaus, who shot a 3-under 68, birdied four of the last six holes. Mathias Eggenberger, who helped Team Europe win this year’s Palmer Cup, shot a 69. His round was highlighted by a 32-foot eagle putt at the par-5 seventh.
“We are more than pleased,” said Toni Matti, who is serving as Switzerland’s captain for a sixth time. “Golf is never ending. It’s always until the finish that you can make some birdies and some eagles.”
Poland counted a 2-under 69 from Adrian Meronk and a 1-under 70 from Mateuz Gradecki, positioning them in fourth at 9-under 277. Meronk, who was an All-America selection at East Tennessee State University in 2015-16, took advantage of the par 5s on the inward nine at Mayakoba. He had an easy up-and-down for birdie at No. 13 and made a 15-footer for another birdie at No. 15.
“I am kind of use to it because I was a leader in college as well,” said Meronk about his role as a playing captain. “It’s been always good for me, and I hope we finish strong.”
Scotland was one stroke behind at 8-under 278. The first-round leader struggled to a 2-over 144. Robert MacIntyre, the runner-up at this year’s Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl, had an even-par 71, while Grant Forrest added a 73. Forrest’s topsy-turvy round included a triple-bogey at Mayakoba’s par-4 first hole, his 10th hole, and a 60-foot eagle putt from the fringe at No. 5.
“It was one of those days where it couldn’t have gone much worse,” Forrest said. “It’s just what happens sometimes, and you have a tough time when the putts don’t go in.”
Austria and Ireland are tied for sixth at 7-under 279. Austria’s Markus Maukner and Michael Ludwig each carded 2-under 70s at Iberostar. Maukner improved from his first-round 80 by making five birdies against three bogeys. Jack Hume, of Ireland, fought back from a two-stroke penalty to post a 2-under 70, and teammate Paul McBride had a 73.
“There is good spirit in the team,” said Austrian captain Tobias Schmied. “You saw that today when a player who didn’t score too well yesterday improved his performance today for the good of the team.”
Spain, which was tied for third after the first round, had difficulties making the transition to the Mayakoba El Camaleon course. The team’s second-round score of 3-over 145 left them at 281 in a tie for 12th. Manuel Elvira, who is a junior at the University of Central Florida, shot a 71 and Ivan Cantero had a 74.
“This is a PGA Tour golf course,” said Elvira about a venue which will host the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in November. “It was a real tight golf course, and the greens are more difficult. It’s tougher to score on this course than the other one.”
Joshua Ho, of Singapore, produced the low round of the championship with a 7-under 65 at Iberostar. Ho, who was 11 strokes better than his first-day score, and Gregory Foo’s 70 helped improve their team’s standing 26 places and into a tie for 12th at 281.
The WATC is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 147 national governing bodies in 141 countries and 22 professional members.
The competition, which is being held for the 30th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe-Africa. This year’s event is being hosted by the Mexican Golf Federation. The teams play for the Eisenhower Trophy.
The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and conducted the 2016 Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day total (72-hole) is the team’s score for the championship.
The teams in the upper half of the scoring will play Iberostar Playa Paraiso in the third round and the Mayakoba El Camaleon in the fourth round. The teams in the bottom half will play Mayakoba and then Iberostar.
Mateusz Gradecki of Poland, uses a cold towel to beat the heat as he walks down the first fairway, during the second round of the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy at El Camaleon G.C. in Riviera Maya, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
For complete results, visit www.igfgolf.org.
2016 World Amateur Team Championship
Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club (I) Par-72, 6,988 yards/6,38 metres
Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club (M) Par-71, 6,771 yards/6,187 metres
1.Australia (AUS) - 135 I-132 M -- 267 (-19)
Cameron Davis 67-66--133
Harrison Endycott 68-66--134
Curtis Luck 69-71--140
2.United States of America (USA) - 137 M-138 I -- 275 (-11)
Brad Dalke 67-72--139
Maverick McNealy 70-69--139
Scottie Scheffler 73-69--142
3.Switzerland (SUI) - 139 I-137 M -- 276 (-10)
Jeremy Freiburghaus 68-68--136
Mathias Eggenberger 71-69--140
Marco Iten 72-76--148
4.Poland (POL) - 138 I-139 M -- 277 (-9)
Adrian Meronk 66-69--135
Mateusz Gradecki 72-70--142
Jakub Dymecki 78-80--158
5.Scotland (SCO) - 134 I-144 M -- 278 (-8)
Connor Syme 66-73--139
Robert MacIntyre 69-71--140
Grant Forrest 68-73--141
T6.Austria (AUT) - 139 M-140 I -- 279 (-7)
Matthias Schwab 67-72--139
Michael Ludwig 72-70--142
Markus Maukner 80-70--150
T6.Ireland (IRL) - 136 M-143 I -- 279 (-7)
Paul McBride 66-73--139
Stuart Grehan 70-75--145
Jack Hume 75-70--145
T8.Chinese Taipei (TPE) - 140 M-140 I -- 280 (-6)
Chun-An Yu 70-67--137
Yu-Chen Yeh 70-73--143
Wei-Hsiang Wang 76-79--155
T8.Colombia (COL) - 142 I-138 M -- 280 (-6)
Mateo Gomez Villegas 70-70--140
Nicolas Echavarria 72-68--140
Santiago Gomez 72-76--148
T8.England (ENG) - 139 M-141 I -- 280 (-6)
Scott Gregory 70-70--140
Alfie Plant 69-72--141
Jamie Bower 73-71--144
T8.Norway (NOR) - 141 I-139 M -- 280 (-6)
Kristoffer Ventura 70-69--139
Viktor Hovland 71-70--141
Knud Krokeide 74-78--152
T12.France (FRA) - 139 I-142 M -- 281 (-5)
Ugo Coussaud 70-69--139
Jeremy Gandon 69-74--143
Antoine Rozner 73-73--146
T12.Mexico (MEX) - 141 M-140 I -- 281 (-5)
Alvaro Ortiz 74-65--139
Isidro Benitez 70-75--145
Luis Gerardo Garza 71-77--148
T12.New Zealand (NZL) - 143 M-138 I -- 281 (-5)
Nick Voke 69-68--137
Luke Toomey 74-70--144
Ryan Chisnall 75-74--149
T12.Singapore (SGP) - 146 M-135 I -- 281 (-5)
Gregory Foo 70-70--140
Joshua Ho 76-65--141
Joshua Shou 76-73--149
T12.Spain (ESP) - 136 I-145 M -- 281 (-5)
Manuel Elvira 69-71--140
Mario Galiano 67-74--141
Ivan Cantero 71-74--145
T12.Sweden (SWE) - 139 M-142 I -- 281 (-5)
Fredrik Nilehn 68-71--139
Robin Petersson 71-71--142
Hannes Ronneblad 71-74--145
T12.Thailand (THA) - 138 I-143 M -- 281 (-5)
Kousuke Hamamoto 69-71--140
Sadom Keawkanjana 69-72--141
Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng 76-76--152
19.Denmark (DEN) - 143 M-139 I -- 282 (-4)
Marcus Helligkilde 73-67--140
Peter Launer Baek 73-72--145
John Axelsen 70-75--145
T20.Iceland (ISL) - 141 M-142 I -- 283 (-3)
Gudmundur Kristjansson 70-72--142
Andri Bjornsson 71-75--146
Haraldur Magnus 76-70--146
T20.Japan (JPN) - 139 I-144 M -- 283 (-3)
Kazuki Higa 67-71--138
Takumi Kanaya 72-73--145
Junya Kameshiro 75-73--148
T20.Netherlands (NED) - 145 M-138 I -- 283 (-3)
Vince van Veen 71-69--140
Lars van Meijel 74-73--147
Rowin Caron 81-69--150
T23.Argentina (ARG) - 142 I-142 M -- 284 (-2)
Alejandro Tosti 71-68--139
Andres Gallegos 71-75--146
Gaston Bertinotti 72-74--146
T23.Canada (CAN) - 144 I-140 M -- 284 (-2)
Jared du Toit 71-70--141
Hugo Bernard 73-70--143
Garrett Rank 74-72--146
T23.Germany (GER) - 147 I-137 M -- 284 (-2)
Jeremy Paul 72-69--141
Hurly Long 76-68--144
Max Schmitt 75-69--144
T23.Peru (PER) - 142 I-142 M -- 284 (-2)
Felipe Strobach 72-70--142
Luis Fernando Barco 73-72--145
Julian Perico 70-77--147
T23.Portugal (POR) - 140 M-144 I -- 284 (-2)
Tomas Silva 69-71--140
Pedro Lencart Silva 71-73--144
Vitor Londot Lopes 71-76--147
T23.Republic of Korea (KOR) - 145 M-139 I -- 284 (-2)
Sung ho Yun 73-66--139
Je chang Ryu 72-75--147
Seung bo Jang 74-73--147
T29.Brazil (BRA) - 143 M-142 I -- 285 (-1)
Herik Machado 70-70--140
Daniel Kenji Ishii 73-72--145
Gustavo Chuang 73-75--148
T29.South Africa (RSA) - 141 M-144 I -- 285 (-1)
Jovan Rebula 70-70--140
Marco Steyn 71-74--145
Dylan Naidoo 75-74--149
T31.Italy (ITA) - 141 M-145 I -- 286 (Even)
Stefano Mazzoli 67-71--138
Luca Cianchetti 75-74--149
Guido Migliozzi 74-76--150
T31.Venezuela (VEN) - 143 M-143 I -- 286 (Even)
Jorge Garcia 69-68--137
Manuel Torres 76-75--151
George Trujillo 74-77--151
33.Wales (WAL) - 144 M-143 I -- 287 (+1)
David Boote 69-73--142
Owen Edwards 76-70--146
Josh Davies 75-79--154
34.Morocco (MAR) - 140 M-148 I -- 288 (+2)
Yassine Touhami 68-76--144
Ayoub Id-Omar 72-72--144
Ayoub Lguirati 77-83--160
T35.Guatemala (GUA) - 146 M-145 I -- 291 (+5)
Alejandro Villavicencio 72-74--146
Sebastian Barnoya 79-71--150
Pablo Castellanos 74-82--156
T35.India (IND) - 147 M-144 I -- 291 (+5)
Arjun Prasad 74-71--145
Aalaap Indira Lakshminarayana 73-75--148
Kshitij Naveed Kaul 76-73--149
T37.Finland (FIN) - 141 M-151 I -- 292 (+6)
Juuso Kahlos 70-74--144
Kim Koivu 71-77--148
Ilari Saulo 75-77--152
T37.Hong Kong, China (HKG) - 148 M-144 I -- 292 (+6)
Matthew Cheung 74-71--145
Terrence Ng 75-73--148
Leon Philip D'Souza 74-77--151
T37.Zimbabwe (ZIM) - 144 M-148 I -- 292 (+6)
Kieran Vincent 69-71--140
Benjamin Follett-Smith 76-77--153
David Amm 75-79--154
40.Peoples Republic of China (CHN) - 146 I-147 M -- 293 (+7)
Junbin Zhang 79-71--150
Yilong Chen 75-76--151
Zihong Zhang 71-84--155
T41.Czech Republic (CZE) - 142 M-152 I -- 294 (+8)
Simon Zach 69-77--146
Matyas Zapletal 73-77--150
Vitek Novak 76-75--151
T41.Dominican Republic (DOM) - 139 M-155 I -- 294 (+8)
Juan Guerra 68-79--147
Rhadames Pena 71-79--150
Enrique Valverde 78-76--154
T41.Puerto Rico (PUR) - 146 I-148 M -- 294 (+8)
Daniel Caban 71-74--145
Erick Juan Morales 75-74--149
Max Alverio 81-74--155
44.Chile (CHI) - 149 M-146 I -- 295 (+9)
Joaquin Niemann 71-73--144
Claudio Correa 78-73--151
Carlos Bustos 83-81--164
T45.Slovakia (SVK) - 149 M-148 I -- 297 (+11)
Adam Puchmelter 73-74--147
Michal Brezovsky 76-74--150
Jakub Hrinda 87-WD--WD
T45.Uruguay (URU) - 145 I-152 M -- 297 (+11)
Juan Alvarez 68-72--140
Nicholas Teuten 77-80--157
Agustin Tarigo 77-82--159
T47.Bermuda (BER) - 152 I-146 M -- 298 (+12)
Mark Phillips 75-74--149
Jarryd Dillas 77-74--151
Eric West 80-72--152
T47.Guam (GUM) - 146 M-152 I -- 298 (+12)
Devin Hua 71-74--145
Redge Camacho 75-78--153
Nalapon Vongjalorn 82-80--162
T49.Croatia (CRO) - 156 I-143 M -- 299 (+13)
Ivan Vucemil 75-71--146
Luka Karaula 81-80--161
Adam Brnic 93-72--165
T49.Ecuador (ECU) - 150 M-149 I -- 299 (+13)
Rafael Miranda 75-74--149
Juan Miguel Heredia 75-75--150
Jose Miranda 77-75--152
51.Turkey (TUR) - 151 I-150 M -- 301 (+15)
Ali Altuntas 71-75--146
Alihan Afsar 85-75--160
Leon Acikalin 80-80--160
52.Belgium (BEL) - 152 M-152 I -- 304 (+18)
Adrien Dumont de Chassart 75-76--151
Alan De Bondt 77-76--153
Kristof Ulenaers 80-80--160
53.Slovenia (SLO) - 149 M-156 I -- 305 (+19)
Zan Luka Stirn 74-75--149
Luka Naglic 78-81--159
Mark Trnovec 75-85--160
54.Egypt (EGY) - 151 I-156 M -- 307 (+21)
Issa Abouelela 71-74--145
Dean Naime 80-84--164
Gougou Abdeltawab 91-82--173
T55.Cayman Islands (CAY) - 156 I-153 M -- 309 (+23)
Michael Wight 74-80--154
Payten Wight 82-78--160
Andrew Jarvis 87-75--162
T55.Costa Rica (CRC) - 157 M-152 I -- 309 (+23)
Jose Mendez 79-74--153
Paul Chaplet 79-78--157
Manuel Jimenez 78-88--166
T55.Panama (PAN) - 155 I-154 M -- 309 (+23)
Luis Cargiulo 83-72--155
Jose Guillermo Lewis 77-83--160
Paolo Cargiulo 78-82--160
T58.Jamaica (JAM) - 162 M-150 I -- 312 (+26)
Sean Morris 78-73--151
Jonathan Newnham 84-77--161
Ian Facey 86-85--171
T58.Qatar (QAT) - 153 M-159 I -- 312 (+26)
Saleh Al Kaabi 71-79--150
Ali Al Shahrani 82-81--163
Abdulrahman Al Shahrani 90-80--170
T58.Serbia (SRB) - 150 I-162 M -- 312 (+26)
Branimir Gudelj 73-79--152
Mihailo Dimitrijevic 77-84--161
Ranko Helc 80-83--163
61.Kenya (KEN) - 158 I-155 M -- 313 (+27)
Sujan Shah 80-75--155
Neer Chandaria 81-80--161
Bo Gatundu 78-83--161
T62.Mauritius (MRI) - 160 I-158 M -- 318 (+32)
Rakesh Channoo 79-79--158
Phil Minkley 86-79--165
Ian Espitalier Noel 81-89--170
T62.United Arab Emirates (UAE) - 158 I-160 M -- 318 (+32)
Ahmad Skaik 78-82--160
Saif Thabet 86-78--164
Rashid Hamood 80-89--169
64.Greece (GRE) - 162 I-158 M -- 320 (+34)
Panagiotis Pantazopoulos 83-77--160
Dimitrios Rokadakis 79-81--160
Panagiotis Samakovlis 89-84--173
65.El Salvador (ESA) - 156 I-167 M -- 323 (+37)
Rodrigo Sol 78-81--159
Bobby Moore 78-88--166
Tino Flores 82-86--168
66.Republic of Moldova (MDA) - 165 I-162 M -- 327 (+41)
Aleksei Koika 79-77--156
Dennis Volostnykh 86-86--172
Artiom Podgainii 95-85--180
T67.Bulgaria (BUL) - 161 I-170 M -- 331 (+45)
Asen Mihaylov 77-87--164
Vladi Marinov 85-84--169
Ryan Staykov 84-86--170
T67.Malta (MLT) - 165 I-166 M -- 331 (+45)
Jay Jay Micallef 80-81--161
Andy Borg 85-85--170
Christian Brown 85-86--171
69.Haiti (HAI) - 176 I-167 M -- 343 (+57)
Jean-Philippe Mehu 81-77--158
Maurice Pasha Brandt 99-90--189
Pierre-Antoine Donte 95-100--195
70.Kazakhstan (KAZ) - 189 I-172 M -- 361 (+75)
Baurzhan Sarkytbayev 92-85--177
Yerbolat Ospanov 97-87--184
Yerbol Bukharbayev 103-94--197
71.Armenia (ARM) - 206 I-221 M -- 427 (+141)
Levon Karakhanyan 86-94--180
Karen Hovhannisyan 120-127--247
