Adams-Bittick, Carver-Edick share first-round lead at 6th SCGA Foursomes Championship
The 23-year-old Edick, runner-up in the last three SCGA Amateurs, and the 72-year-old Carver, the reigning SCGA Super Senior Amateur titleholder, had never met before they arrived at the course today but they blended smoothly with four birdies and five bogies over the Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed layout. The 41-year-old Adams and his 40-year-old partner also had four birdies and five bogies, two of the latter on par-5 holes. They’re three shots in front of a trio of teams that each shot 75 today: brothers Jimmy Osborn of Hacienda Heights and Bobby Osborn of Glendora; James Meyer of Dana Point and former two-time USGA Senior Amateur champion Kemp Richardson of Laguna Niguel (their combined age of 112 is the highest in the field); and Keith Gulla and Stan Ware of Oak Hills. Another three teams -- including 1999 SCGA Amateur champion John Pate of Santa Barbara and 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Kevin Marsh of Henderson, NV -- are another shot back after shooting 76s. Tee times tomorrow begin at 8 a.m., with the leaders going off at 9:20 a.m.
“It could have been so much better,” said Edick afterwards. “We got a little sloppy midway through the round or we could have posted a really good number.” It was a statement, not a complaint. “Considering how hard the wind was blowing,” said Carver, “72 was a good score. Our last four holes played right back into the wind and the greens were tough.” When the wind kicked up, Adams and Bittick shifted strategy. “When the wind started blowing,” said Adams afterwards, “we just tried to hit approach shots in the middle of the green and when we had a wedge shot in, we tried to attack.” Bittick concurred. “When we set our strategy prior to the round,” he explained, “we had John putting on 12 of the 18 greens because he’s such a great putter while I’m just average. Every time we can put a putter into John’s hands, it’s a bonus. On the other hand, I’m hit it long and am a good ball striker so we had things set up well for us. Tomorrow? Who knows?” Read more about the Foursomes Championship from Robert D. Thomas on Bob's Blog. |
SANTA BARBARA -- Brian Edick of Valencia and Bob Carver of Fullerton (left) -- one of the more unlikely pairings in the 6th Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) Foursomes Championship –- fired a 1-over-par 72 to share the first-round lead with John Adams of San Clemente and Jason Bittick of Coto de Caza (below) heading into tomorrow’s final round at Rancho San Marcos Golf Course.
Today began in fog, but when the sun broke through by mid-morning, 20-25 mph-winds came with the clearing skies. That sent scores in the difficult alternate-shot format soaring.