Billy Stewart of The ACE Club and Jordan Gibbs of Gulph
Mills Golf Club got off to solid starts in the 41st National Car
Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship Thursday as each carded a
4-under-par 68 at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Stewart, a Malvern Prep and Saint Joseph’s University
product, and Gibbs, winner of the 2016 Philadelphia Section PGA Championship,
are in a group of five players tied for seventh, two shots behind four
co-leaders tied at 6-under 66 in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship,
which is also supported by Srixon/Cleveland Golf/XXIO, John Deere and Golf
Advisor.
Stewart, making his first start in a national PGA of America
event, birdied three of the par-5s on the
7,123-yard, par-72 Wanamaker Course layout. Both of his front-nine
birdies came on par-5s, the first and seventh. After making a bogey at the 11th,
he finished strong with birdies at the 12th, 15th and the
par-5 16th.
The 33-year-old Stewart won the 2015 Pennsylvania Open at
Rolling Green Golf Club and shut it down in 2016 after undergoing surgery. He
was named the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2017.
The 30-year-old Gibbs got it to 5-under with birdies at one,
two, 11, 12 and 16 before a bogey at 17 left him at 4-under for the round.
The foursome tied for the lead at 6-under 66 includes Jesse
Masie of Hurstbourne Country Club in Kentucky, J.D. Griffin of the Capital City
Club in Atlanta, Chris Mory of Hawk Hollow Golf Course in Michigan and Ryan Batty
of Old Hickory Country Club in Tennessee.
The quartet were all among the first six groups of the day
in Thursday’s opening round. Massie and Griffin were playing partners.
Benjamin Cook of Beechmont Country Club in Michigan and Callum McNeill of The Clubs at Houston Oaks
in Texas are tied for fifth after each posted a 5-under 67.
Joining Stewart and Gibbs in the group tied for seventh at
4-under 68 are Tim Feenstra of Broadmoor Golf Club in Washington, Ryan Zylstra
of The Federal Club in Virginia and Derek Berg of Sahalee Country Club in
Washington.
Andrew Turner of Sunnybrook Golf Club, who claimed the
$100,000 jackpot earlier this year that goes to the winner of the Haverford Philadelphia
PGA Classic played at his home course, also got off to a solid start at PGA Golf
Club’s Wanamaker Course with a 2-under 70 that featured five birdies and two
bogeys. Turner is tied for 19th.
Jakob Gerney of the Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia is
just outside the projected 36-hole cut line after an opening round of 3-over 75
that has him tied for 81st. Brian Bergstol of the Shawnee Inn and
Golf Resort, winner of the Philadelphia Assistant Professional Championship, is
a shot behind Gerney in a group tied for 90th at 4-over 76.
The field will be cut to the low 70 and ties after Friday’s
second round. Gerney and Bergstol are certainly still in with a shot to play
the weekend.
The top assistant pros from around the country are playing
for a top prize of $12,000 out of a total purse of $113,000.
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