With his feet in a sand trap, Richard Hughes plays a shot on the ninth hole during Satuday’s first-round action at Coosa Country Club. (Photo contributed by Coosa Country Club)
Trey Chittom (Photo contributed by Coosa Country Club)
But one element about the annual event hasn’t changed at all: The quality of play.
The tournament, which opened Saturday and continues today at Coosa Country Club, has once again brought in some of the best amateurs in the nation.
“It’s a good, strong field of players,” said Coosa Country Club head professional Brian Albertson. “We have some of the top amateurs in the state — and really, in the Southeast — out here this weekend.”
J.T. Putnam is the tournament’s overall leader after he fired a 68 on Saturday to build a three-shot edge.
The event is being played amid record-high temperatures, which led tournament officials to make a small adjustment to the schedule.
The tourney is using a shotgun start, which enables groups of players to tee off simultaneously on different holes as opposed to having staggered tee times throughout the morning and early afternoon.
Albertson said the change greatly reduced the chance of heat-related illness or injuries, as players were able to complete their rounds around noon instead of finishing in the hottest part of day.
Today’s second round, like Saturday, will feature a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
“We were concerned with the players’ health with the temperatures being so high,” said Albertson. “But the (shotgun start) worked out really well, and the pace was very good today.”
David Noll Jr., who won the Invitational last summer, is one of the most established names in the event. He has reeled off a series of victories on the GSGA circuit in the past year, including winning the Mid-Am title in Duluth in May, and the State-Am last July.
Noll carded a 71 on Saturday at Coosa, and is three shots behind Putnam.
Three players — including former Darlington standout Will Jones — share second place after they each shot 70 on Saturday. Three more players, including Noll, are three strokes behind Putnam in Flight 1.
The leaderboards are likewise crowded in several other divisions.
Chad Branton and Jack Stumpfig tied for first place in Flight 2 after they each shot 72 on Saturday. Former Coosa star Ethan Lambert is two shots behind the leaders, and he shares second place with Charlie McDaniel.
In Flights 3 and 4, Kyle Pettyjohn (who shot an opening-round 70) and Tommy Roughton (75) each own two-shot leads.
Keith Bledsoe (77) owns a four-shot lead in Flight 5, and Frank Perry (72) has a three-shot advantage in the senior division’s Flight 1. Gary Hopper (75) holds a two-shot lead in Senior Flight 2.
“All the flights are really close,” said Albertson, noting that the tight leaderboard should lead to some intense finishes today.
COOSA INVITATIONAL
Saturday’s Results
Flight 1
J.P. Putnam 68
Justin Johnson 70
Tyler Smith 70
Will Jones 70
Chase Jones 71
David Noll Jr. 71
Rob VanGorder 71
Steve Davis 73
Tom Price 73
Rex Ross 74
Collin Doss 75
Mac McKnight 77
Blake Darnell 78
Tobin Ayers 79
Laine Frazier 80
Les Wells 83
Flight 2
Chad Branton 71
Jack Stumpfig 71
Charlie McDaniel 72
Ethan Lambert 72
Bo Gammage 74
Nico Zan Rensburg 75
Hunter Brooks 76
Nolan Pendleton 76
Andrew Partridge 77
Ben Vaughn 77
David Burke 77
John Bullen 77
Aiden Faddis 79
Alp Kupcuoglu 80
Jeremy Willis 80
Taylor Wynn 80
Mark Bichsel 81
Flight 3
Kyle Pettyjohn 70
Tre Lamb 72
Greg Abbott 74
Ryan Cannington 74
Eddie Wilson 75
Hal Lamb 75
Levi Nix 75
Jeffrey Dodd 76
Paul Giles 76
Kevin Parker 77
Kevin Deems 78
George Alexander 79
Boo Miller 80
Mike Mixson 80
Stephen Keen 81
Taylor Virgil 81
Brad Cline 82
Nathan Merritt 91
Flight 4
Tommy Roughton 75
Craig Rutherford 77
Kendric King 78
Brad Shadday 79
Gaines Dempsey 79
Jason Embro 80
Brantley Wilson 81
Tom Crawford 81
David Tate 82
Eric Brown 83
Richard Hughes 83
Steve Stewart 83
Daniel Gordon 85
Wil Manuel 87
Flight 5
Keith Bledsoe 77
Jay Biddle 81
Jeff Neal 81
Brian Tucker 82
Jody Butler 83
Mark Sturlock 85
Maurice Jones 86
Ronnie Siniard 87
Trey Chittom 88
Robert Terry 89
Tim Bockholt 91
Jeff Grogan 92
Nick Autorina 93
Mike Cole 96
Thomas White 102
Senior — Flight 1
Frank Perry 72
Brad Virgil 75
Dick Donegan 75
Gary Cole 75
Jim Kamis 75
Larry Clark 75
Mike Granato Sr. 75
David Cauthen 76
David Dreibelbis 76
Donald Gray 76
Frank Dial 78
Neil Monroe 81
Johnny Neyman 82
Tom Powers 84
Senior — Flight 2
Gary Hopper 75
Bill Banks 77
John Stanley 79
Leon Rutherford 79
Larry Woodall 80
George Baker 83
Jackie Ward 83
Wayne Ball 83
Max Stone 85
Gary S. Wright 89
Roger Powell 96
TODAY’S COOSA INVITATIONAL PAIRINGS:
Shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
1A
J.P. Putnam
Justin Johnson
Will Jones
Kyle Pettyjohn
1B
Tyler Smith
Chad Branton
Chase Jones
David Noll Jr.
2A
Jack Stumpfig
Rob VanGorder
Tre Lamb
Ethan Lambert
3A
Charlie McDaniel
Tom Price
Steve Davis
Greg Abbott
3B
Rex Ross
Ryan Cannington
Bo Gammage
Hal Lamb
4A
Collin Doss
Levi Nix
Tommy Roughton
Eddie Wilson
5A
Nico Zan Rensburg
Brad Virgil
Hunter Brooks
Jeffery Dodd
5B
Paul Giles
Nolan Pendleton
Keith Bledsoe
David Burke
6A
John Bullen
Mac McKnight
Andrew Partridge
Craig Rutherford
6B
Ben Vaughn
Kevin Parker
Blake Darnell
Aiden Faddis
7A
Kevin Deems
Kendric King
Tobin Ayers
Gaines Dempsey
8A
Brad Shadday
Taylor Wynn
Jeremy Willis
Boo Miller
9A
Jason Embro
Laine Frazier
Alp Kupcuoglu
Mike Mixson
10A
Frank Perry
Larry Clark
Gary Cole
Dick Donegan
10B
Mike Granato Sr.
Gary Hopper
Jim Kamis
David Dreibelbis
11A
David Cauthen
Donald Gray
Bill Banks
Frank Dial
12A
George Alexander
Leon Rutherford
John Stanley
Larry Woodall
12B
Neil Monroe
Johnny Neyman
George Baker
Wayne Ball
13A
Jackie Ward
Tom Powers
Max Stone
Maurice Jones
13B
Gary S. Wright
Roger Powell
Steve Stewart
14A
Brantley Wilson
Taylor Virgil
Tom Crawford
Jeff Neal
15A
Mark Bichsel
Jay Biddle
Stephen Keen
Brian Tucker
16A
Brad Cline
David Tate
Richard Hughes
Eric Brown
17A
Les Wells
Jody Butler
Daniel Gordon
Mark Sturlock
17B
Ronnie Siniard
Wil Manuel
Trey Chittom
Robert Terry
18A
Tim Bockholt
Nathan Merritt
Jeff Grogan
18B
Nick Autorina
Mike Cole
Thomas White
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