At 74, Lykens puts up a remarkable 66 at Stonewall's North Course in state Senior Amateur's Super Senior division

   There was a lot of golf going on Monday and I did manage to get in a post on the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. But the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur teed off Monday at Lebanon Country Club, the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship was going on at St. Davids Golf Club, the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour was in action at Cedarbrook Country Club. Still, when you get a front-row seat to a 74-year-old guy shooting a brilliant 4-under-par 66 in the opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s 61^st Senior Amateur Championship in the Super Senior division at Stonewall’s North Course, well, Lee Lykens forced my hand. I’ll have a fun week of catching up on all this golf anyway.

   As we stood on the first tee at Stonewall’s North Course Monday morning, a PAGA official warned us that the approach of Hurricane Isaias might make the scheduled 36-hole state Senior Amateur an 18-hole event.

   I was on the bag for Applebrook Golf Club’s Gary Daniels in the Super Senior division, but apparently Indiana Country Club’s Lee Lykens has a reputation for being a come-from-behind guy. That strategy, the PAGA official told Lykens, might not work this time.

   Apparently Lykens took the advice to heart and what followed was four hours of pretty amazing golf from a 74-year-old guy. Shooting your age is quite a feat in my book. Going out and shooting a remarkable 4-under 66 at Stonewall’s North Course and beating your age by eight is quite another matter entirely.

   OK, they gave the Super Seniors a break as they basically played from the white tees on the North, about 5,900 yards. But the golf course was set up for a championship and anybody who has ever played the North knows they can set the pins in some pretty sneaky spots on the tough Tom Doak-designed greens.

   None of the other Super Seniors broke par on the North as Lykens will take a commanding five-shot lead over three players tied for second place at 1-over 71 going into Tuesday’s second round, which, unfortunately, probably won’t be played.

   Only one of the Senior division players, first-round leader Chris Fieger Sr., playing basically the 6,312-yard blue tees, bettered par with a 2-under 68.

   I hadn’t seen the North since caddies were back carrying bags in early June, but Dan Dale and his crew had it in excellent shape and it was a beautiful day, a little warm, but nowhere near the sweltering heat that has dominated the last few weeks. And there was actually a breeze out there on occasion.

   Lykens and Buck Jones, a Philadelphia Publinks entry who has been a good player on the Golf Association of Philadelphia circuit for forever, were in carts and I was walking with Daniels, who bombs it, although the shorter setup took away a little of his distance advantage.

   I actually missed the shot that got it started for Lykens, but I saw the result of his spectacular second shot into the par-5 third hole, a laser that finished three or four feet below the hole. He buried the eagle putt.

   Lykens simply got the gettable holes on the North’s front side. His tee shot to the little par-3 sixth hole finished three feet from the cup for another birdie. He got his third shot on the par-5 eighth hole on the same level as the back pin and dropped that birdie putt.

   He was 3-under on the front nine’s two par-5s and 4-under overall at the turn.

   Lykens’ only stumble of the day came at the par-4 10^th hole when he couldn’t get his long birdie putt out of the swale in the middle of the green and three-putted for a bogey.

   The putter, though, saved Lykens time after time, particularly on the back nine. He saved a par after bunkering his approach to the par-3 13^th hole, his only make that didn’t go right in the middle of the cup.

   Lykens had one more laser left in the quiver as his approach at the par-4 14^th hole finished three feet from the hole and he drained the birdie putt to get it back to 4-under.

   Lykens wasn’t quite as solid in the last four holes, but the putter never cooled off. His long putt from the front of the par-4 15^th hole drifted six feet from the hole, but he buried the par-saver. His long birdie putt from the back of the green at the par-4 16th hole defied gravity in stopping six feet short of the cup going downhill. He made the par putt.

   Lykens bunkered his approach at the par-3 17^th hole and blasted it to three feet. I would have been more surprised if it hadn’t gone in. He then finished the round with a routine par on the very gettable par-5 finishing hole.

   I do a lot of bragging on this blog about the amazing amount of senior talent in Pennsylvania. Holding second place in the Senior division with an even-par 70 was Hannastown Country Club’s Sean Knapp, bidding for a third straight state senior crown. All Knapp did in his first two cracks at the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship was win the thing in 2017 at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis and lose in the final in 2018 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

   Chip Lutz, who is from Reading, not far at all from Stonewall, was the 2015 U.S. Senior Amateur champion and was a semifinalist two years ago in Eugene. Merion Golf Club’s Buddy Marucci won the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur in between captaining the United States to Walker Cup wins in 2007 and 2009.

   Let’s face it, 2020 has been a pretty lousy year. But I got to see a little golf magic for four hours Monday thanks to Lee Lykens and I’m not giving it back. I’m fairly certain it was a round Lykens won’t soon forget. And yes, the old guys in Pennsylvania can really play.

   We’ll see if any of the chasers get a chance to catch Lykens, but one of them, the reigning seven-time GAP Super Senior Player of the Year Don Donatoni is certainly capable. Donatoni was joined at 1-over 71 by a couple of Hannastown guys, Vince Zachetti and Robert Alshouse.

   And it wasn’t like the rest of our group was hacking it out there. Jones closed with a birdie at the 18^th hole, his third of the day, to join Tom Bartolacci of LuLu Country Club in a tie for fifth place at 3-over 73.

   And my guy Daniels, fighting a balky putter at times, birdied the last to join the group tied for seventh place at 4-over 74.

   In the Senior division, Fieger, who made the match-play bracket in his first crack at a U.S. Senior Amateur a year ago at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., got off to fast start with birdies at the first and third holes.

   He gave both shots back with a double bogey at the tough par-4 fifth hole, but got it back to 1-under with a birdie at the par-3 ninth hole. He followed that with a patient run of eight straight pars before closing with a birdie at the last to get it to 2-under.

   Fieger, who captured the GAP Senior Amateur title a year ago at Little Mill Country Club, resides in Denver, Lancaster County, but is a Delco guy out of a pretty good golfing family from Nether Providence.

   Knapp stumbled with a bogey at the par-5 third hole, but got that shot back with a birdie at the par-5 eighth. He birdied the ninth hole to get it back in red figures before a bogey at the 16^th dropped him back to even.

   David Brown of St. Clair Country Club was a shot behind Knapp in third place with a 1-over 71.

   Reigning GAP Senior Player of the Year Oscar Mestre, who plays out of Overbrook Golf Club, headed a group of five players tied for fourth place at 2-over 72.

   Also in that group was Carlisle Country Club’s Jeff Frazier, winner of GAP’s Brewer Cup at LedgeRock Golf Club last month. I’ve looped for Frazier in a couple of Fall Scrambles at the North. The left-hander can play.

   Rounding out the group at 2-over were Philadelphia Country Club’s Paul Walsh, Michael Quinn, a Philadelphia Publinks entry, and Bob Gill of Fox Hill Country Club.