THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 13, 1996 TAG: 9607130313
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 54 lines
While most of the players in the Eastern Amateur are using it as a steppingstone to the professional ranks or hoping it will add to their college golf resumes, Tom McKnight has other thoughts.
McKnight wants to gain a berth on the Walker Cup team.
McKnight, the Eastern's defending champion who was one shot off the lead when play was suspended Friday, has stepped up his amateur tournament agenda in hopes of getting a spot on the Walker Cup team.
Next week he will bypass the State Open, in which he has competed for the past 12 years, to compete in the Southern Amateur.
McKnight already has had a taste of pro golf. He was a touring pro from 1976 to 1980 and returned to the amateur ranks in 1984. He's a three-time State Amateur champion and won one State Open.
PRACTICE PAYS: Playing in his fourth Eastern Amateur, Auburn's Brett Boner decided to come in early to get ready for this year's tournament.
``I got here Sunday and practiced every day until we started Thursday,'' Boner said. ``And it seems like I was playing worse each day.
``I felt I was really struggling by the start of the tournament. And now I had a 68 and was playing pretty good when the rain came today. So I guess all the practice paid off.''
Boner redshirted the past season at Auburn and is a fifth-year senior.
``I wanted to finish up my golf at Auburn at the same time I'm finishing school,'' he said.
CALLS FROM HOME: The phones in the Eastern Amateur headquarters stayed busy throughout the afternoon with anxious parents, concerned about Hurricane Bertha, calling to check on their sons.
``We assured them all was going well,'' said tournament chairman Dave Whitener.
Strangely, play was halted at 4:45 p.m., and not a single call came afterward except from players wanting to know their third-round tee time.
Earlier one player said he was withdrawing as the rain started. But he returned shortly afterward to see if he could ``unwithdraw.'' He was allowed to play.
Virginia Beach's Troy Ferris, the top local scorer with a 36-hole par 140, closed out his second-round 71 with a birdie-birdie finish in the driving rain.
``When it first started, I was playing No. 10 and 3-putted,'' he said. ``Then I made a 25-footer for birdie at 17 and an 18-footer at 18.
``All I was thinking about was finishing the round and not having to come back for an early start Saturday.'' ILLUSTRATION: SCOREBOARD
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