Porter & Sullivan Lead the 15th Metropolitan Four-Ball
Washington, MO - It was a wet one out on the course for the 15th Metropolitan Four-Ball Championship at Franklin County Country Club. The day began with a shotgun start at 10:00am and had cloudy skies. Not long into the day, it began to rain and did not stop for the remainder of the round. Just after 2:00pm we had a suspension of play to let a cell of heavy rain pass through and allow greens to drain off. Play resumed at 2:40pm. There were 28 teams across three divisions: open championship, senior, and senior net.
In the Championship division, AJ Porter and Ryan Sullivan pushed through to card a bogey-free round of five-under (-5) par. This placed them on top of the leaderboard. Coming in two back from the lead were four teams. The sides of Scott Kirchoff and Rob Scherer, Corey Choate and Jason White, Ryan Eckelkamp and Tony Gumper, and Trip Sanfelippo and Blake Skornia came in with a first round score of three-under (-3) par. This placed the four teams in a tie for second going into the final day. Sitting in solo sixth is Nick George and Anthony Houska at one-under (-1) par.
In the Senior Open division, Buddy Allen and Brian Lovett came in with the first low round of the day. With three birdies, a bogey-free round for the pair put Allen and Lovett in the lead at three-under (-3) par. There is a tie for second between three teams at two-under (-2) par in this division as well. These teams are the sides of Tony Nolfo and David Strickland, David Bremer and Paul Neeman, and Tom Sinak and Patrick Riordan. Not far behind are the sides of Joe Malench and Kyle Viehl and Brad Eaton and John Moore at one-under (-1) par in a tie for fifth.
For the Senior Net division, Bill Slantz and John Schrank took an early lead. Slantz and Schrank shot a net three-under (-3) par to top the leaderboard. Following them in were Curt Wooters and Matt Hall at one-under (-1) par.
The teams will return tomorrow for Round 2 beginning at 7:30am. Play will commence with designated tee times off of Hole 1 in the morning. With a number of teams close at the top, the second round is sure to be a battle to the finish for the win.