LOGIN  |  JOIN  |  INFO  |  BENEFITS
David Laskin stroms into 36-hole Saguaro Amateur Lead
Second round leader David Laskin <br>(Arizona Athletics Photo)
Second round leader David Laskin
(Arizona Athletics Photo)

MARICOPA, AZ (January 3, 2018) - When the day began David Laskin was one of 21 players within two-strokes of the first round lead, when the day ended the Arizona sophomore was 9-under and leading the Saguaro Amateur by three.

Laskin, 1-under when the second round began, stormed into the lead at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club with a flawless 8-under 64 that included four birdies on each side. The day began with an opening par but from then on Laskin played lights out golf birdieing seven-times during a 12 hole stretch from Nos. 2-13. Laskin then capped his round with a birdie on the 18th hole.

So far in his second season with the Wildcats in three fall events Laskin has struggled, however as a freshman he played in all 12 events and showed flashes finishing inside the top-20 twice, including at the Pac-12 Championships.

In a tie for second place and three shots back at 6-under are David Perkins of Illinois State, who was part of the four-way first round lead, and Ryan Knop of Auburn. Knop has already had a successful winter winning the Orlando International Amateur and AGC Tour Championship .

Rounding out the top-five are Arizona State's Koichiro Ishika and Blake Hathcoat of Mount St. Mary's at 5-under in a tie for fourth.

ROUND ONE RECAP

3-under 69 was the magic number on day one of the Saguaro Amateur hosted by Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club with four players firing the number to share the lead. The lead group includes Hayden Banz, Josh McCollum, David Perkins and Carson Seals.

In addition to the lead group there are six players tied for fifth just one shot further back at 2-under while 11 others are 1-under in a tie for 11th. All said there are 21 players within two-strokes of the lead with two rounds remaining.

Hayden Banz (Utah State) reached the top of the leaderboard after a day of highs and low. The highs of the round included six birdies, including three in a row from Nos. 2-4, while the lows were made up of a bogey, double-bogey stretch on the 6th and 7th holes.

For Josh McCollum his trip to the lead was comprised of four birdies, three bogeys and the highlight of the round, an eagle on the par-5 7th.

Carson Seals (Oklahoma City) got off to a quick start on Tuesday with three front nine birdies to turn in 3-under 33. On the back nine Seals had to hang on a bit as he birdied twice and bogeyed twice. Seals final birdie came on the closing hole.

The final member of the lead group, David Perkins (Illinois State), had the cleanest scorecard of the leaders, birdieing three-times and bogeying only once. Perkins carded his birdies on Nos. 4, 10, 14 and 16.



Results: Saguaro Amateur
1CABlake HathcoatFresno, CA50070-69-65=204*
2WADrew McCulloughRichland, WA40073-68-63=204
3CARyan KnopPleasanton, CA30071-67-68=206
4CADavid LaskinElk Grove, CA30071-64-72=207
5JapanKoichiro IshikaJapan30070-69-69=208

View full results for Saguaro Amateur

ABOUT THE Saguaro Amateur

54-hole event with field comprised of 108 men’s amateur golfers from all over the United States. Most players are college golfers on winter break. All players must have completed high school by January 1 and must have a handicap of 3.0 or lower. The host club, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes, has hosted the Arizona Amateur three times as well as U.S. Open and PGA Tour qualifying.

View Complete Tournament Information

Latest in 

Amateurgolf.com, Inc.
6965 El Camino Real 105-631
Carlsbad, CA 92009

Instagram X Facebook YouTube