First 18 In the Books at East Side Amateur
FIRST ROUND RESULTS | FINAL ROUND GROUPS
Madison, IL – MAGA championship season kicked off Saturday morning with the first round of the East Side Amateur from Gateway National Golf Links.
Tony Gumper of Old Hickory Golf Club is the 18-hole leader in the Open Division after a 6-under 65. Gumper was 6-under through his first nine holes, and only carded one bogey throughout the day.
“I played pretty calm early on, I hit it really well, just missed two greens all day,” Gumper said. “I made a lot of putts right off the bat and played really solid from there on in.”
Ryan McNeil came in at 5-under after a birdie on the par 5 18th. The Persimmon Woods member had only one blemish on the card and went 5-under his first 16 holes.
Two shots behind Gumper on the leaderboard is Ryan Eckelkamp, who turned in a 4-under 67 that included a stretch of seven birdies through 11-holes in the middle of his round.
It will be an interesting final group tomorrow, as Gumper and Eckelkamp are playing partners in the U.S. Amateur Four Ball at Chambers Play next week, May 22-26. The pair qualified out of Crowne Pointe Golf Club in Farmington last September, where they shot an 8-under 63.
“It’ll be fun, we’re leaving in a few days for there, so it’s good to see us both playing well,” Gumper said. “It’ll be a comfortable pairing with whoever else we’re playing with; I’m looking forward to it.”
Seven players finished under par in the Open Division and 11 are within six shots of the lead.
Paul Neeman leads the Senior Division after a solid 2-under 69. Playing in both divisions, Neeman eagled the last to be three strokes ahead of Buddy Allen who is in second at 1-over.
Rain was forecasted throughout the day but it stayed mostly dry as the temperature hovered around a chilly 60 degrees.
Final round gets underway Sunday morning with tee times starting at 6:30 a.m. CT.
For updates throughout the tournament, follow MAGA on Twitter @MetAmateurGA.
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