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Sewell Leads After First Round of South Amateur presented by Impact Precision Golf
Fair Oaks Ranch – Chad Sewell of Conroe leads the 2018 South Amateur presented by Impact Precision Golf after shooting a first-round 8-under-par 64 at Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club. Sewell carded ten birdies on Friday to propel him to the top of a leaderboard that has seventeen golfers in red numbers. San Antonio’s John Keefer fired a 66 to put himself well within striking distance. This year's championship is being contested on the Live Oak Course at Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club in Fair Oaks Ranch, TX.
Sewell, a sophomore at UT-San Antonio, started his opening round with a bogey on the 546-yard par-5 1st hole, one of only two bogies on the day. He recovered quickly, though, with birdies on three of his next four holes and never looked back. Sewell roared to a 6-under 30 on his back nine, finishing with a birdie on the closing hole to come into the clubhouse with plenty of momentum after Round One. Sewell, was the 54-hole leader at the 107th Texas Amateur back in 2016. Sewell will look to learn from past experience and put together another solid round on Saturday.
Following closely behind Sewell is John Keefer, of San Antonio. Keefer sits just two strokes off the leading heading into Saturday's second round. Prior to Sewell’s finish, John Keefer shot a bogey-free 66 to take a brief lead into the clubhouse. Keefer also started his round on No. 1, just a few groups ahead of Sewell. He got under par quickly with a birdie on the second hole and continued his strong play throughout the round. He shot 33 on both his front and back nine, finishing with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole. No. 18 proved to be a solid scoring hole all day, with several players playing it under par. Jacob Davis used an eagle on No. 18 to kickstart a run that saw him play a five-hole stretch at 6-under.
Jacob Davis, of Cibolo, and Tyler Walsh, of Fair Oaks Ranch, carded a 67 and a 68 respectively and sit in third and fourth place. Sitting at 3-under 69 and in a tie for 5th place are Logan Davis, Jake Wade, and Nicholas Duggan.
The red numbers came in early and often on Friday, starting with Jake Wade’s 69 in the first group to score. Low scores continued to pour in throughout the round, leading to a crowded leaderboard. With six players all within five strokes of the leader, there should be plenty of action on moving day.
The TGA South Regional Series is presented by Impact Precision Golf. The South Amateur is the fourth and final South Regional event for 2018. The other three events, the South Four-Ball, South Mid-Amateur, and South Senior Amateur were all contested earlier on in the season. Players must reside in the southern part of Texas (31st parallel, Salado, TX) to be able to compete in the South Regional Series presented by Impact Precision Golf.
The 2018 South Amateur presented by Impact Precision Golf continues at 8:00 am on Saturday, August 11th. For first round scores, second round pairings, and additional tournament information, please click here.
