J.D. Dornes, a former Penn State standout who is giving the
pro game a shot on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, couldn’t quite match the
course-record 62 he fired in the opening round, but the 3-under-par 68 he shot
in rainy conditions at Gulph Mills Golf Club Tuesday still put him alone atop
the leaderboard after two rounds of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s 101st
Open Championship, presented by LECOM.
The 12-under 130 total for Dornes, a Manheim Township
product, gives him a one-shot lead over former Lower Merion standout Greg
Jarmas and a two-shot edge over defending Pennsylvania Open champion Robert
Rohanna.
Jarmas, who is playing on mini-tours in Florida and South
Carolina, had one of the three rounds of 7-under 64 posted Tuesday on the venerable
Donald Ross design in Upper Merion, which, combined with his opening-round 67,
left him at 11-under 131.
Rohanna, like Dornes a former Penn State standout, was one
of five players tied for second behind Dornes’ blistering opening-round pace at
6-under 65 and added a 4-under 67 for a 10-under 132 total.
Rohanna was a
junior at Waynesburg when I watched him fall in a playoff to Radnor’s Adam
Cohan in the 2002 PIAA Championship, the first time the event was staged at the
Heritage Hills Golf Resort. He is seeking his third Pennsylvania Open title. He
also won it in 2010 at Applebrook Golf Club.
Turns out my post on the first round wasn’t entirely
accurate, although you come to expect a little fake news in the blogosphere now
and again, right?
Dornes started his round on the 10th tee, so he
didn’t have seven straight birdies and he didn’t birdie nine of his last 12
holes. He only birdied his first four
holes and he only birdied his last
three. He still had 10 birdies against just one bogey and he dropped a lot of
putts on the tricky, undulating putting surfaces at Gulph Mills.
Dornes did start on the first hole Tuesday and, as often
happens when you’re trying to back up a spectacular round, he struggled a
little early. When he bogeyed the 10th, Dornes was 1-over for the
round.
But he got it going again, making back-to-back birdies at 11
and 12 and finished up with back-to-back
birdies at 17 and 18 to complete a solid 3-under 68.
“I had a couple of good looks at birdie early that I didn’t
convert,” Dornes told the PAGA website. “It was good to see them dropping on
the back nine.”
Jarmas felt right at home at Gulph Mills as he eagled the
par-5 seventh and made seven birdies to offset a pair of bogeys.
“I’ve been looking forward to this week all year,” Jarmas
told the PAGA website. “I love playing these courses.”
Jordan Gibbs, an assistant pro at Gulph Mills and the
reigning Philadelphia Section PGA champion, is tied for fourth at 9-under 133,
just three shots off the lead after adding a 68 to his opening-round 65.
Gibbs was joined at 9-under by Lancaster pro David
Denlinger, who added a 68 to his opening-round 65, Beau Titsworth of Wexford,
who matched Jarmas’ 64 after opening with a 69, and Daniel Obrenski of Irwin,
who notched the third 64 of the day after also opening with a 69.
Titsworth finished his round in style, flying his approach
to the uphill par-4 ninth past the hole and spinning it back in the cup for an
eagle.
I managed to leave Denlinger out of the group tied for
second in my post on the first round. I went back and amended it to include
him. It will take a little more time to fix the part about Dornes making seven
birdies in a row, but I’ll get around to it eventually.
The only amateur in the top 10 is Georgetown senior Cole
Berman, the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion who plays out of
Philadelphia Cricket Club. Berman added a 69 to his opening-round 65 and is
alone in eighth at 8-under 134.
David Hilgers (66-70) of Hershey, Easton Renwick (71-65) of
Dubois and Daniel Konieczny (67-69) of Monroeville are tied for ninth at
6-under 136.
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