66 Leads First Round Of Wet Saguaro Amateur In Maricopa

MARICOPA, Arizona – On a tough day for scoring in the first round of the 2016 Saguaro Amateur at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, Ryan Roodzant of Bakersfield, California, bested the field by two shots shooting 6-under 66 to lead by two shots. Two players – Wes Artac (Kingwood, Texas) and Turner Maclean (Fort Worth, Texas) shot 4-under par 68s and headline a tightly bunched field that sit two shots behind Roodzant. Five players – Carter Thompson (Tallahassee, Florida), Jimmy Makloski (Pueblo, Colo), Matt Lee (Cave Creek, Arizona), Michael Christifulli (Paradise Valley, Arizona), and Connor Klein (Lone Tree, Colorado) all shot 3-under par 69s to be chasing three shots back. Joo-Young Lee (Hilliard, Ohio) and Daniel Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio) are another shot back at 70. Defending champion Sean Walsh (Keller, Texas) shot 73 and 2014 champion Taylor Moore (Edmond, Oklahoma) is in the hunt at 71 with six other players. The second round will begin at 9:00 am local time on Tuesday. Full results can be found at www.saguaroamateur.com.

Top Results

1. Ryan ROODZANT, Bakersfield, Calif – 66 (-6)
2. Wes ARTAC, Kingwood, Tex – 68
Turner MACLEAN, Fort Worth, Tex – 68
4. Jimmy MAKLOSKI, Pueblo, Colo – 69
Matt LEE, Cave Creek, Ariz – 69
Michael CHRISTIFULLI, Paradise Valley, Ariz – 69
Carter THOMPSON, Tallahassee, Fla – 69
Connor KLEIN, Lone Tree, Colo – 69
9. Joo-Young LEE, Hilliard, Ohio – 70
Daniel WETTERICH, Cincinnati, Ohio – 70
11. 7 players (T. Moore, J. Pelayo, N. Heinen, A. Heinen, P. Cover, J. McCollum, D. Bayley, H Wood) – 71

Notes

The weather was a main story here today as temperatures didn’t get out of the 50s and competitors battled rain and 12-15 mph wind throughout the day. Precipitation is expected throughout the rest of the week as well.

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes played tougher in the first round this year, averaging 76.1 today after averaging in 74.3 in 2014 and 75.5 in 2015 in the respective first rounds.

About the Saguaro Amateur:
The Saguaro Amateur is in its third year and has established itself as one of the top individual men’s amateur events in the US over the winter months. It was founded by University of Colorado Head Men’s Golf Coach Roy Edwards and University of Wyoming Head Men’s Golf Coach Joe Jensen. The host golf course is Ak-Chin Southern Dunes, which plays to a distance of 7395 yards and par of 72. It was designed by Schmidt-Curley-Couples and has hosted numerous professional and amateur events in its short but heralded history.

Roy Edwards
Chairman, Saguaro Amateur
Head Men’s Golf Coach, University of Colorado
[email protected]
www.saguaroamateur.com
303.917.4538