Greene, Crain share different fortunes on day one
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 17, 2009 2:04 PM
A tale of two rounds.
The fortunes in the eGolf Tar Heel Tour's Walnut Creek Open turned in opposite directions for local golfers Andy Crain and Jonathan Greene.
After battling through an up-and-down day, Greene came to his final hole with a chance to make a move. The Mount Olive College graduate fired a shot toward the par-3, ninth hole that appeared to be headed toward the green.
Greene watched as the ball turned over and found the water. A double-bogey finish to a round of 75 was not the way Green wanted to start the three-day event.
"It was a risk that I thought I had to take to get back into contention," said Greene. "I was between clubs, so I pulled the shorter one and tried to hit it hard and I wound up pulling it into the water."
Greene got off to an auspicious start when he took a double-bogey at his second hole. The lanky left-hander battled back with two consecutive birdies and appeared to be back on track until the final hole letdown.
"I hit some good shots, but I did not make enough putts," said Greene. "I had some chances on the front side but I didn't capitalize."
Crain suffered a similar fate.
After making a bogey on the par-3, ninth hole at Kinston Country Club, the Tar Heel Tour regular turned his day around with consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th holes.
"I have been having some trouble with the putter recently, but today I actually putted the ball very well," said Crain. "I made a couple of 10-12 foot putts and played a nice solid round of golf for most of the day.
With two holes to play, Crain appeared to be headed for a 5-under round, but the final two links got in the way. Back-to-back bogeys forced Crain to accept a 3-under 67.
"I am happy with the way I played, just a little disappointed with the last two holes," said Crain. "I'm looking forward to coming out and playing at Walnut Creek and hopefully putting up another solid number."
Crain teed off this morning at Walnut Creek, while Greene played on the Kinston CC links. The 142-player field will be cut to the top 50 percent and ties after today's round.