Two locals five shots off lead at state amateur

Published 10:12 pm Thursday, July 12, 2007

Augusta’s Jeff Knox, who finished second at last year’s Georgia Amateur Championship, is among four tied for the lead at this year’s event after one round of play.

But four of the six local golfers competing at the state amateur left Roswell’s Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek on Thursday in good shape to make today’s cut of low 70 and ties following the second round.

Knox, Woodstock’s Mark Strickland, Atlanta’s Robert Sheats and Alpharetta’s Rocky Costa each shot a 2-under 70, making them part of the half dozen golfers who broke par on the 7,119-yard layout. Thomasville’s Harris English and Marietta’s Mitchell Van Zelfden, who each carded a 71 and are tied for fifth, were the other two.

Dalton’s David Noll Jr. and Hudson Keener are among a dozen players tied for 26th after shooting opening 75s.

Noll, who won the 2003 event and finished second in 2005, is playing in the tourney for the sixth straight year. It is the first appearance at the state amateur for Keener, a recent Northwest Whitfield graduate who will play for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga this year.

Dalton’s Bill Faith shot a 76 in the first round and is tied with 15 others at 38th, while Matt Hughes — who is also from Dalton and now plays for the University of Alabama — is in a 13-player tie for 54th after shooting 77 on Thursday.

Two other local golfers, Dalton’s John Powell and Chatsworth’s Tyler Mitchell, face a tougher battle for the cut today.

Powell, who finished 32nd at the state amateur in 2004 and made the cut last year, shot 80 and is tied with 14 others — including Mitchell — for 91st. Mitchell, a Murray County High School standout who is entering his junior year, is playing in the event for the first time.

The field was reduced to 154 golfers in the first round after two withdrawals.