Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 18, 1990 TAG: 9007180163
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He was leading.
Actually, Spencer was tied for the lead with Nick Cifelli after both golfers had overtaken first-round leader David Reed.
Reed didn't exactly collapse, but he stumbled enough with a bogey at No. 15 and a double bogey at No. 16 to allow Spencer to close the gap.
Spencer, of Raleigh, N.C., had five birdies in an eight-hole stretch starting at No. 10 and set a competitive course record of 31 on the newly remodeled Red Bud nine.
Spencer and Cifelli, from Cranbury, N.J., each matched par 71 and had 36-hole totals of 143, one shot ahead of Reed and two shots in front of Curtis Deal of Chesapeake.
"I came here just hoping to make the top 10," said Spencer, 16. "I guess I'm going to have to change that. . . . I'm a streaky putter, and today I had one of my streaks on the back nine."
Spencer's birdie putts were from 25 feet at the 10th hole, 6 feet at the 12th, 6 feet at the 14th, 15 feet at the 16th and 15 feet at the 17th.
The big turnaround was at the par-3 16th, where Reed missed the green, chipped poorly and three-putted.
"I figured I'd make a birdie somewhere on the way in, but it never happened," said Reed, who skipped the Tennessee state junior tournament this week to play in the Robertson. "I'm pleased with my position, though."
Nobody has demonstrated greater perseverance than Cifelli, who was passed over in an initial review of the applicants despite a 2-handicap and a victory in the Rutgers junior tournament in New Jersey.
Cifelli entered a qualifying tournament June 25 and shot 77 in his first look at the course, tying for first in a field of 60.
"It meant I got to see the course one more time than some of the other players," said Cifelli, who will attend Furman University in the fall on a partial golf scholarship. "After playing a practice round Sunday, it seemed pretty familiar.
"I didn't understand why I didn't make the field originally, but this was one tournament I wanted to play in. I'm looking for any tournament over 36 holes, because that's at least one more day of competition."
Cifelli, 18, would have been too old to participate in the Robertson in past years, but the rules were changed this year to give eligibility to 18-year-olds who have not begun college.
The Robertson is affiliated with the American Junior Golf Association this year for the first time, prompting the change in the age limit, the move from 36 to 54 holes and a shift in dates from June to July.
The two boys' age divisions are 15-18 and 13-14, with 14-year-old Chris York of Potomac, Md., replacing old foe Mike Pearson atop the leader board in the younger age group.
York had a 72 from the white tees, giving him a 36-hole total of 148. Pearson, who this year moved to Martinsville from the Baltimore area, had a 75 for a 149.
"We're best friends," York said. "He's the one who beat me in local tournaments; I hope it turns out that I can even things up."
In the girls' division, Meredith Tucker of Rocky Mount, N.C., shot a 78 and had a two-day total of 153 and a six-shot lead over defending champion Ann Pohira of Winter Park, Fla.
Tuesday's action featured a pair of holes in one. Gary Shankland of Ormond Beach, Fla., aced the 151-yard No. 3 with a 7-iron, and Thomas Garner hit a 3-iron from 231 yards at No. 7.
by CNB