Live scoring and complete player statistics from the Northern Ohio PGA assistants who are playing this week in the national PGA Assistant’s Championship at the Wannamaker Course at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, FL November 1st – 4th.
LIVE SCORING: TOURNAMENT LEADERBOARD
HOLE-BY-HOLE SCORECARDS AND PLAYER STATISTICS:
Mike EMERY, Canton, OH – Canton Brookside CC
Jake SCOTT, Strongsville, OH – Elyria CC
Ben BASTEL, Upper Sandusky, OH – Stone Oak CC
ROUND 3 GAME STORY:
JAKE SCOTT EXTENDS LEAD TO FOUR AFTER THREE ROUNDS
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Jake Scott of Strongsville, Ohio, opened up a four-stroke lead over Ryan Vermeer of Omaha, Neb., heading into Sunday’s final round of the 36th National Car Rental PGA Assistant Championship presented by COBRA PUMA GOLF.
Scott, a PGA Assistant Championship rookie, shot a third-round, 5-under-par 67 for a 201 total on the Wanamaker Course at PGA Golf Club. Vermeer posted a third-round 70 for a 205 total.
The two players have separated themselves from the field, as Scooter Buhrman of Fayetteville, N.C., is alone in third at 209.
Mike Emery of Canton, Ohio, and Richard Terga of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., are another stroke back at 210.
Scott, a PGA apprentice at Elyria (Ohio) Country Club, posted his third consecutive round in the 60s, which included six birdies. The 25-year-old is tied for the most birdies made in the Championship with 17, and has the best scrambling percentage in the field.
“I stuck to the game plan and played really smart all day,” said Scott. “I made some key birdies coming down the stretch and even though I hit a few bad shots I recovered very well.”
Scott, who will play the final round alongside Vermeer, will not change that game plan going into the final round, even with a four-stroke lead.
“You can’t let up out here at all. You have to continue to be aggressive and continue to make birdies,” said Scott. “Ryan is a great player. It will be fun to play with him tomorrow and see how it turns out at the end of the day.”
Vermeer, a PGA apprentice at Oak Hills Country Club in Omaha, used five birdies to offset a bogey on the front nine and double bogey on the back nine. But Vermeer, 34, was not happy with his overall putting performance.
“I just didn’t putt as well today. It’s as simple as that,” said Vermeer. “Tee to green I was solid and gave myself plenty of chances to make birdies. The putts just didn’t drop today.”
Vermeer, who shot 66 to take the first-round lead, knows he will need at least a repeat performance to beat Scott on Sunday.
“Jake is playing so well right now, I would be surprised if he didn’t break par again,” said Vermeer. “I can’t have a mediocre round and win this Championship. I am going to have to go out and make a bunch of birdies like I did the first day to have any chance of catching him.”
Emery, a PGA apprentice at Brookside Country Club in Canton, pulled off the shot of the Championship on the Wanamaker Course — an ace on the par-3 sixth hole. The 42-year-old used a 6-iron from 180 yards for his first competitive hole-in-one.
“It was great to see the ball go in. It landed a few feet short and just trickled into the hole,” said Emery. “It was a special time to get my first hole-in-one, that’s for sure.”
Two-time defending champion Frank Bensel of Purchase, N.Y., posted a second consecutive 73 and sits in a tie for 32nd overall.
Following play yesterday, the field was reduced to the low 70 scorers and ties, with 72 players making the cut at 6-over-par 150.
The 2012 field features the top-4 finishers from last year’s Championship as well as 122 players who advanced through their PGA Section Championships.
Also at stake for the Champion is a spot in the 46th PGA Professional National Championship, June 23-26, 2013, at Sunriver (Ore.) Resort.
The winner of the 2012 Championship will collect $9,000 of the $100,000 purse.
ROUND 2 GAME STORY:
JAKE SCOTT GRABS SLIM 36-HOLE LEAD IN 2012 NATIONAL CAR RENTAL PGA ASSISTANT CHAMPIONSHIP
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2012) – Championship rookie Jake Scott of Strongsville, Ohio, grabbed the 36-hole lead today at the 36th National Car Rental PGA Assistant Championship presented by COBRA PUMA GOLF, posting a second-round, 7-under-par 65 for a 134 total. He has a one-stroke lead overfirst-round leader Ryan Vermeer of Omaha, Neb., who shot a 69 in the second round for a 135 total.
Zach Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Richard Terga of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., are tied for third at 138, four strokes back of Scott.
Following today’s play, the field was reduced to the low 70 scorers and ties, with 72 players making the cut at 6-over-par 150.
After opening with a 69 on Thursday, Scott, a PGA apprentice at Elyria (Ohio) Country Club, reeled off four birdies and an eagle en route to a spectacular front-nine 31.
“I got off to a hot start today with an eagle on the first hole. You can’t get much better than that,” said Scott, 25. “Then I birdied the second and was feeling really, really good.”
Scott, who had never played the 6,947-yard Wanamaker Course layout until a Tuesday practice round, completed the back nine in two-under-par and was extremely pleased with his overall play through 36 holes.
“After playing so well on the front, I put the ball in places on the back nine where I could get up and down for par,” said Scott. “I have hit lots of fairways and greens over these first few days and hopefully that can continue into the weekend.”
Vermeer, a PGA apprentice at Oak Hills Country Club in Omaha, opened with three straight birdies, before a run of seven consecutive pars that kept him at the top of the leader board.
“I hit the ball as well today as I did yesterday, and maybe even better,” said Vermeer, 34. “To have three straight birdies to start a round was awesome.”
But Vermeer, making his second appearance in the PGA Assistant Championship, made only his second bogey in 29 holes on the par-3 11th to lose the second-round lead to Scott.
“I missed some greens on the wrong side of the hole and had some tough up and downs that led to bogeys,” said Vermeer, who bogeyed three of his final eight holes. “But if you would have told me that I was 9 under through 36 holes I would take that any time.”
Johnson, a PGA apprentice at Davis Park Golf Course in Fruit Heights, Utah, posted a second consecutive 69 to put himself in position to contend for a National Championship this weekend.
“I am very happy overall with the way I played both today and yesterday,” said Johnson, 29. “It was a flurry of bogeys and birdies today, but I held it together and gave myself a chance to play well this weekend.”
Two-time defending champion Frank Bensel of Purchase, N.Y., posted a 73 in the second round and sits in a tie for 38th with 36 holes to play.
The 2012 field features the top-4 finishers from last year’s Championship as well as 122 players who advanced through their PGA Section Championships.
Also at stake for the Champion is a spot in the 46th PGA Professional National Championship, June 23-26, 2013, at Sunriver (Ore.) Resort.
The winner of the 2012 Championship will collect $9,000 of the $100,000 purse.
