Pennsylvania golfers shut out at U.S. Open qualifier

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio - It appeared Monday as though western Pennsylvania was trying to overwhelm the U.S. Open Sectional qualifier at The Kirtland Country Club with sheer numbers.

Five of the 22 players who started made the ride on the turnpike from western Pennsylvania with the hope that having nearly a quarter of the field would get at least one of the two spots in the U.S. Open next week at Southern Hills in Tulsa.

Nice idea.

Unfortunately for those five, however, the best parts of their golf games didn't go with them across the state line.

The two qualifiers were a pair of Buy.com players. Chad Campbell of Andrews, Texas, the leading moneywinner on that tour, shot 71-68 to total 139. The other spot went to Brad Klapprott, a Buy.com Tour player from Fort Wayne, Ind., who shot 70-67 to total 137.

The district players struggled in the morning 18 holes, with Field Club assistant pro Sean Farren posting the lowest of the five scores, a 71. John Mazza (head pro at Montour Heights) and Dan Quinn (former Penguins center and Celebrity Tour star) were next at 73, while Steve Antenucci (assistant at Longue Vue) struggled to a 76 and Nemacolin Woodlands assistant Joe Nieporte finished at 78.

And while they posted those scores, a 68, three 69s and two 70s were ahead of them.

And while Farren acknowledged he'd have to get well into the 60s to get into the hunt, he couldn't pull it off, going 3-over on the first six holes of his afternoon round.

'I started off bogey, double-bogey on the afternoon, then birdied the fifth hole and three-putted the sixth for another bogey,' Farren said after shooting a 76. 'I had a chance to get it back a little when I hit a 4-iron to 10 feet on 10 (a par-5), but I three-putted again.

'I played 30 good really holes and had six three-putts, and those were the ones that did me in,' Farren said.

For Mazza, it was a continuation of a year-long struggle with his swing.

'It's been like this for a while,' he said after spending a few minutes between rounds on the practice range in an effort to find something.

Mazza birdied the first hole of the day and didn't make another in his first round. It got worse in the afternoon.

'I ended up with three shanks,' he said, disgustedly. 'I kept telling people to quit standing to my right, somebody was going to get hurt. One thing about those shanks, they sure do make your score add up quick.'

Quinn was agitated after his morning round.

'I had it to 1-under after six and was even-par after 13 and ended up 2-over,' he said. 'And I'm not happy about that.'

He bogeyed the 14th and 16th holes in the morning.

It didn't get much easier for him in the afternoon. Quinn was the victim of a couple power lip-outs early in the round and was shaking his head a lot walking on Kirtland's greens.

'Once your grind goes out there, it goes quick,' Quinn said after having the wheels fall off for a 78 in the afternoon. 'It was a great experience for me since this was my first time.'

Antenucci is recovering from shoulder surgery and said that contributed to his 76.

'I just can't hit it in the rough and expect to get it out, especially this rough,' he said. 'I just don't have the power to get it onto the greens.

Nieoporte's 78 sounds bad, and it started out that way, as he bogeyed five of the first six holes. He birdied the eighth, ninth and 10th but gave those back with bogeys on three of the next four holes.

'I got off to a slow start this morning,' Nieoporte said. 'Hey, it's the second stage of the qualifier, and I was a little nervous. It's just one of those things.'

He improved a bit in the afternoon round, shooting a 4-over round of 75.

x-qualified for U.S. Open