On another picturesque day in Jupiter, Florida's best amateur golfers took on The Bear's Club and Lost Tree Club in hopes of making the 36-hole cut at the 100th Amateur Championship. After the second round, it is University of South Florida senior Cristian DiMarco and Auburn University commit Brandon Mancheno who led the field.
Both playing at Lost Tree Club this morning, DiMarco and Mancheno shot their second consecutive under par round to sit atop the leaderboard at six-under par. Mancheno proved he could not only handle The Bear's Club but also Lost Tree Club. Starting out strong, Mancheno birdied two of his first three holes of the day before posting six consecutive pars to make the turn at two-under par. The 2015 Junior Player of the Year then went on to birdie the 11th and 13th holes before making his only bogey of the day on the par-four 16th hole. Finishing up with a birdie at the last, Mancheno posted a four-under par round of 68 to propel him to the top of the leaderboard. "I'm hitting the ball really well, and I'm putting the best I have in a long time," Mancheno said.
Joining Mancheno in first place heading into the weekend is Cristian DiMarco. Playing at Lost Tree Club, DiMarco followed up his impressive four-under par 68 at The Bear's Club yesterday with a bogey-free, two-under par 70. After steadily starting off with eight pars, DiMarco birdied the par-5 18th hole to go out in one-under par. Staying patient, DiMarco then went on to par the first six holes on the back nine before adding another birdie to his round on the seventh. He posted 16 pars and two birdies for a round of 70. "It was kind of a grind the first nine holes. I made a couple mid-range putts including a 20-foot par putt on 17 before birdieing the 18th to right the shift," DiMarco said. After only missing one fairway over the first 36 holes of competition, DiMarco hopes to keep the same game plan going into the weekend.
After the opening 36 holes of the 100th Amateur Championship, the field was cut to the low 70 players and ties. Therefore, players shooting a two-day total of 11-over par moved on to the weekend where competitors will play the final two rounds of the Championship at The Bear's Club. Of the five past State Amateur champions playing in the field this week, four made the cut, including defending champion, Jacob Huizinga.
The third round of the 100th Amateur Championship will begin tomorrow morning with tee times starting at 8:00 A.M. off of the 1st and 10th tees. Spectators and media are welcome to attend and Live Scoring will once again be available.
