Nasty weather plays havoc in first round of South Beach International Amateur
The scores figuratively came drizzling in on the first day of the South Beach International Amateur golf tournament Thursday.
The rain and wind made good scores a rarity as the sixth-ranked amateur tournament in the world got off to a soggy start at Miami Beach Golf Club and Normandy Shores Golf Club.
“It has been a very difficult day, and the scores are reflecting it,” tournament founder and director Jeff Hunt said. “The scores are high. It’s nasty out there, but the players have a great attitude. It was a steady, continuous rain all day.”
Tied for the lead after the soggy start were two players from the United States — Garett Reband and Ben Shipp, both at 2-under-par. Reband had completed his round, shooting a 68 at Normandy Shores, but Shipp had not finished his round at Miami Beach because of the weather.
How much do the players want to win this tournament?
Hunt could answer that question by just looking around.
“Well, it’s raining pretty much right now and there are 15 or so players who have finished their rounds that are on the driving range hitting balls in the rain,” Hunt said. “They are dedicated.”
Despite the daylong rainfall, Hunt said the two courses held up well.
“There was no flooding on the fairways or the greens,” he said. “The rain was constant, but it wasn’t heavy all the time. The courses are soaking up the water nicely.”
The bad weather did slow down play considerably and several groups will go off early Friday to complete their first round.
One player who performed well on Thursday explained the difficulty the weather presented.
“It’s not so much the rain,” said Christopher Zhang, who shot a 1-over 72 at Miami Beach. “It’s the wind that is difficult. I was trying to figure out shots where the wind was causing a three- to four-club difference.”
The winds were clocked in the 20- to 24-mph range on Thursday.
Zhang is looking forward to another interesting weather day on Friday.
“It’s a new day, a new challenge,” he said.
What does the weather future hold? Apparently, more wetness. A 50 percent chance of rain on Friday, 40 percent on Saturday and 80 percent for the final round on Sunday.
More amateur tournaments
DIXIE AMATEUR: Emily Zhu, Mychael O’Berry and Katherine Schuster are in a three-way tie for first after three rounds in the women’s tournament at Woodlands Country Club in Broward County. The three are all tied at 5-under 211 heading into Friday’s final round.
In the men’s competition, Bennett Ruby of Canada leads with a 1-over 217 total at Eagle Trace Golf Club. Tied for second, one stroke back, are Zack Mason and Michael Barnard at 218.
DORAL-PUBLIX JUNIOR CLASSIC: In the tournament presented by the Orange Bowl, Clarisa Temelo of Mexico finished first in the girls’ 12-13 division at 6-over 148 for two rounds. Annika Kohoutkova of the Czech Republic and Sawyer Brockstedt were tied for second at 9-over 151. In the boys’ 12-13, Sam Udovich of Minnesota and Kostka Horno of Spain tied at 1-under 141 after two rounds in the 12-13 division with Udovich winning in a playoff.
