Massar, Anderson take early lead at Lebanon County Better Ball
Bill Massar and Matt Anderson put their home course knowledge to good use Saturday during the opening round of the Lebanon County Better Ball golf tournament at Pine Meadows.
The PM members carded a 9-under 63 to grab the first round lead by making two eagles and no bogeys during an immaculate round.
Their score was good for a three-shot lead over second place Darren Lutz and his dad, Barry, 72.
A crowded leader board followed with five teams at 5-under 67 and three teams at 68, and the leaders complemented each other very well.
The 26 teams teed off simultaneously on a perfect day with a light breeze.
"Bill played well early and I got hot late," Anderson said. "We both shot 68 on our own cards and complemented each other well."
Massar and Anderson teed off on No. 13. Massar birdied Nos. 18 and one, eagled two and made a 40-foot putt on three for bird"Matt was only three feet away on three," Massar said. "So I had a chance to go for it.
Anderson's back nine was highlighted by an eagle on 10 when he chipped in from the fringe.
Massar won this event with Dave Berkheimer in 2012 when they shot 68-69-137 at Monroe Valley.
Massar said the rest of their round was pretty routine.
"We made a lot of six-foot putts," he said. "We were hitting our irons good."
Tournament director Tony Deraco said the course was playing fair.
"It's dry," he said, "but the fairways aren't rolling that much farther. The greens are soft and holding nicely.
Team Lutz had six birdies and no bogeys. Barry Lutz, who said he doesn't play very often, said he was pretty much along for the ride.
"Darren made all the birdies," he said. "Dad made a big 12-foot putt on 13 for par when I was out of the hole," Darren said. "Pars like that are important to keep your momentum going.
Barry was a little worried about Sunday's championship flight, when 12 teams will vie for the championship.
"We played the white tees today," he said. "(Sunday) we'll be playing the blue tees and I'm sure they'll be all the way back. I'm not as long as the rest of these
guys."
Among the teams at 5-under were Justin Arnt/Skeet Wentling, Dan Brown/ Brian Auman, Ben Feeman/Dylan Ramsey and Dave Albright/Scot Adams.
Arnt/Wentling won this event in '17 by shooting 66-64-130 at Lebanon Valley.
"We're OK with 5-under," Wentling said. "You can shoot yourself out of a tournament on the first day, but you can't win it."
At 4-under 68 were Greg Seidel/Shaun Vernesoni, Chris Gebhard/John DiGiacomo and Perry Umlauf/Kerry Wentling.
Gebhard teamed with Jim Gardner to win this event the past two years. They set the tournament scoring record by shooting 63-61-124 last year at Lebanon Valley.
Gardner, the '21 Lebanon County Senior champ, was unable to attend this year to defend.
Gebhard enlisted the help of DiGiacomo, his fellow Lebanon Country Club member who is the '21 Lebanon County Amateur champ.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Massar and Anderson surge to lead at Lebanon County Better Ball
