Vance Leading After Day One of Districts
He’s already put together quite a season.
Coming off a first place finish in the PAC-10 Individual Tournament and also playing an integral part in Methacton’s team championship, Kyle Vance isn’t satisfied just yet.
On day one of the District 1 Golf Championship, the junior shot an 8-under 64 to move to the top of the leaderboard at Turtle Creek Golf Course (Par 72).
“I just tried to put myself in good position,” said Vance, who finished tied for fifth place at districts last season. “Overall, I was feeling confident in every shot I took.”
On the round, his confidence led to nine birdies and just one bogey, including a run of three-straight birdies on no. 11, 12 and 13. He needed just 26 putts total on the day with his lone bogey on no. 4.
Admitting that his confidence grew as the round went on, Vance says he really got his momentum going around hole no. 12.
“Once I was through the 12th hole, I knew to just play it smart and stay away from the out of bounds,” he said.
Vance currently sits five strokes ahead of Souderton’s Quinn Guzman (-3) in second place.
Also advancing to the second day of districts is Spring-Ford’s Ben Pochet (even par) along with Methacton’s Dan Rieger (+4) and Caleb Ryan (+5) as the field narrowed down from 106 players to 30 with the cut at 77.
Pochet’s round puts him in a tie with seven other players for third place headed into the second day.
On his round Monday, he dropped four birdies but ran into trouble early on the back nine.
“I was four-under through 12 holes heading into 11 and 12,” said Pochet. “I doubled both of those then parred out (the rest of the way). I was pleased with the overall score but not the way it happened.”
Perkiomen Valley’s Nate Guerrini (+6) missed the cut by a single stroke.
Despite his admittedly disappointing round, the senior says he made plenty of strides on the course Monday.
“Today was really tough,” he said. “I started out triple bogey and was +4 through the first two holes. The biggest thing that I can take away from this dismal round is my mental toughness to stay in it even though my swing was sub par.”
The second round of the district tournament will take place Tuesday at Turtle Creek Golf Course at 8 a.m.
The top 16 will advance to the East Individual Regional Tournament at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood next Monday.
