JOHNSTOWN —
Tyler McCumber began the third round of the 59th Sunnehanna Amateur in a tie for 20th place.
The University of Florida golfer moved into a tie for fifth place after shooting the best round on Saturday – a 5-under-par 65.
“All day I was really swinging it well and hitting it close,” said McCumber, the son of former PGA Tour player Mark McCumber. “I had a lot of opportunities. A lot of the putts were short. I was able to give myself chances for birdies inside of 5 feet, which is nice out here.”
McCumber made birdies on Nos. 2, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 13. His lone bogey came on the par-3 No. 14.
“No. 2 was my ‘longer’ putt of the day,” McCumber said of a 45-footer that went up the hill and rolled down into the hole. “I was pin high right. It was a big swinging breaker. It just fell in at the last second.”
Perhaps his best effort came on a par-saving combination on the par-4 17th hole.
“No. 17 was my best putt of the day. It went in a perfect line, perfect speed,” said McCumber, who had to work out of trouble in the rough just above the bunker on the left side of the green. “My chip was an easy chip but I had an awful lie. I couldn’t get any club on it because there was about an inch of rough behind it. I just took a big swing and I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out. Fortunately it didn’t do anything goofy and I made a putt for par.”
McCumber begins today’s final round three strokes behind leaders Mike Miller, Sebastian Vazquez and Bobby Wyatt, who each are at
7-under for the tournament. Justin Thomas, who was in the lead after each of the first two rounds, is at 6-under.
“Definitely it’s a big momentum round and a confidence builder especially after (Friday),” McCumber said. “I pretty much played the same way (Friday). I hit it the exact same way and putted absolutely awful. It was nice to finally make some birdies and build momentum going into the final round.”
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Family ties: University of South Florida-bound Chase Koepka of Lake Worth, Fla., is playing in his first Sunnehanna Amateur this weekend.
His older brother Brooks was part of his first U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Chase Koepka shot a 73 on Saturday and is 11-over 221 through three rounds of the Amateur.
Florida State's Brooks Koepka didn't make the cut at the U.S. Open after back-to-back rounds of 77.
The Koepka brothers are the sons of former WJAC-TV co-anchor Denise Jakows, a well-known TV personality in the region during the mid-1980s.
A recent feature in Golfweek told a touching story of how the mother and her sons have persevered through Jakows' treatment for a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.
Officials at Sunnehanna said Chase Koepka also is the great-nephew of former Pittsburgh Pirates MVP Dick Groat of the 1960 World Series championship team that upset the New York Yankees.
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Live results: Golf fans may follow hole-by-hole scoring among the top eight groups during today’s final round.
The live results will appear at www.sunnehanna.com.
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Relocation: An area adjacent to the locker rooms on the lower floor of the country club recently was converted into a physical fitness center.
For many years that room had served as the players' lounge during the Amateur.
Golfers played pool and Ping Pong or enjoyed a snack.
The weight machines have replaced the pool table, but the Amateur players didn't miss their lounge.
A spacious room on the top floor of the club has been made into an impressive lounge area for the players.
The area is complete with large TV screens and video games.
Of course, the Ping Pong table still provides some spirited entertainment throughout the weekend.
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Letter man: A veteran Tribune-Democrat news reporter was reading a preview story on the Amateur when he noticed a familiar name.
The reporter said he thought he recalled writing a story about Greater Johnstown champion Aaron Patalune
25 years ago.
He went to the clip files and produced a story documenting Patalune's run to an eighth-place finish out of 185 entrants in the 1987 National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
At the time it was the highest finish by a district representative at the national event.
Patalune misspelled “banausic” but he correctly nailed words such as “Sovietologist” and “bascule.”
Patalune shot a 78 on Saturday, his best round of the Amateur. He has a total of 240.
Sunnehanna Country Club champion Derek Hayes shot an 81 on Saturday and is at 233 for the tournament.
Sports
Related Photos
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Tyler McCumber reacts to making a par-saving putt on No. 17 on Saturday during the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions at Sunnehanna Country Club. McCumber shot a 65 on Saturday. Todd Berkey
Discussion
McCumber gains 15 places in third round
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