Gavin Hall (left), Denny McCarthy, and Carter Jenkins
LEWISTON, N.Y. — Saturday at Niagara Falls Country Club should prove to be a thrilling finish to the 2015 Porter Cup. Second-round leader Gavin Hall, as well as Denny McCarthy and Carter Jenkins, share the 54-hole lead at 9-under par 201.
Hall, a junior at the University of Texas, birdied his first three holes on Thursday to shoot 67 and grab the halfway-point lead. Friday brought another solid start to the Pittsford, N.Y. native, who birdied holes 2 and 3 again, but wound up firing a still-respectable 1-under 69 to remain in the lead.
McCarthy, a member of the United States squad during the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship and recent University of Virginia graduate, had a pedestrian, even-par front nine before rattling off three birdies on the back side to shoot 67 and grab his first share of the lead this week.
The last member of Saturday's final group is Jenkins — a University of North Carolina junior and three-time reigning Carolinas Amateur champion. Jenkins put up 68 in the third round to join Hall and McCarthy at the top.
Had it not been for a late bogey on the par-3 16th, former Virginia Tech golfer Trevor Cone would have made it four players in first place. Still, his day-three 69 puts him, for the third round in a row, one shot off the lead.
Cone, along with Hall, trailed 18-hole leader Scott Harvey by a stroke back on Wednesday. Harvey, the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur winner, has posted scores of 69 and 74 since holding the opening-round lead. Harvey, now six shots back, is looking for his third win of the year having already captured wins in 2015 at the South American Amateur in Peru, as well as the Gasparilla Invitational in Florida.
The lead group is set to tee off at 12:10 p.m. EST off the first tee on Saturday at Niagara Falls C.C.
ABOUT THE
Porter Cup
One of the premier amateur events in the
nation, this 72-hole stroke play invitational has
lots of extra activities that give this event a special
flavor. The winning player receives a green blazer, as
well as an invitation to the Master of the Amateurs
tournament in Melbourne, Australia. Pre-tournament
qualifying is a few weeks prior to the
event and approximately five spots are available.
Starting in 2023, the men's and women's
Porter Cup championships are run concurrently with
54 players in each field and alternating
tee times. It's been exciting seeing the top players in each division in final pairings on the par-3 18th hole at Niagara Falls CC, with large galleries always appreciative of the rising talent.
View Complete Tournament Information