Brad Wilder
CARMEL, Calif. — Kentucky's Brad Wilder leads by a
stroke over Jerry Ledzinski, and by two over the
defending champion Brady Exber, at the Stocker Cup
Invitational through the opening round.
After a year absence from The Preserve Golf Club, the
tournament has returned to its regularly hosted site in
the hills above Carmel. Wilder, who reached the
semifinals at the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur, birdied three
of his last four holes to post his solid first-round score.
Ledzinski, of Carmel, had a couple birdies of his own
down the stretch to card 69, while Exber overcame
two
mid-round bogeys to shoot 70.
Craig Doell is the only other player under par, at 71,
while five players sit tied for fifth place at 72.
TEAM GROSS EVENT
The second-place holder Ledzinski, who is paired up
with AmateurGolf.com founder Pete Wlodkowski, are
on
top in the team portion of the competition. They best-
balled 6-under par 66 and are a stroke ahead of
Wilder
and his partner Nick Fezcko.
Behind them is a four-way tie for third place at 4-
under, including the reigning individual winner Exber
and his partner Dusty Allen, who both hail from TPC
Summerlin in Las Vegas. Craig Doell and Erik Stocker,
as well as Jason and Jack Anthony are also in after 18
holes at 68. Stocker is the son of Pete Stocker, the
tournament's name sake.
TEAM NET EVENT
Tied at 64 are the teams of Brad Wilder and Fezcko
and
Jerry Ledzinski and Pete Wlodkowski. The are trailed
by
a pack of 66s that includes TPC Summerlin members
Brady Exber (the 2014 individual winner) and his
partner Dusty Allen, a former Major League Baseball
player. Also at 66 are father and son team Jason and
Jack Anthony, Craig Doell and Erik Stocker, as well as
2015 USA Walker Cup team member Mike McCoy of
Iowa and his partner Mike Machette of Piedmont,
California, a former professional tennis player.
One notable "B Player" performance was by
Andrew Doll of the Olympic Club. Doll, a 10
handicapper, recorded an amazing 5 natural birdies
including one on the hole that drove a few players to
tears, the 4th. With a pin placement on the right edge
of the green's top tier, and surfaces running at 12-13
on the stimp, Doll cooly rolled in a 24 foot putt for
birdie, with 3 feet of break.
ABOUT THE
Stocker Cup
The Stocker Cup was founded in 1991 to
honor
the
memory of Peter Stocker. Peter and his
partners Bill
Harlan and John Montgomery founded San
Francisco's
Pacific Union Company, a highly successful
real
estate
development company. The firm initiated the
development of The Santa Lucia Preserve, a
20,000
acre residential and golf community located
above
Carmel. Meandering through the winding road
to
The
Preserve's centerpiece -- the top-100 rated
golf
course -- has been described as "driving
through a California postcard." The Stocker
Cup
was played from 1991 to 1999 at Pebble
Beach
and
its
surrounding golf courses, before moving to
the
Tom
Fazio and Sandy Tatum designed Preserve
G.C.
In
the
words of former USGA President Tatum:
"Peter
Stocker was the quintessential amateur golfer.
He
loved golf with a passion. He would have
loved
this
tournament."
FORMAT:
54-hole individual
competition
with
a
simultaneous best-ball event, similar to the
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Invited Mid-
Amateur
players are either paired with a single digit
amateur
or
can propose their own partner to be
introduced
and
invited by the Committee.
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