Seven players bettered par today at Purgatory GC during the
opening round of the 114th Indiana Amateur Championship, including
Crown Point’s Nicholas Grubnich. Grubnich
fired a 3-under-par 69 to grab a one shot lead over recent high school graduate
Johnny Watts of Fishers heading into day two of competition.
“I started off with a few early birdies this morning,” said
Grubnich, a rising senior at Indiana University. “My ball striking was on point today and I hit
a lot of really solid shots.”
Grubnich’s best finish at the State Am was in ’13 when he
tied for 25th. This year,
Grubnich has a realistic look at the title if he continues to play
consistently.
“It is nice to be in this position, but I don’t want to get
ahead of myself,” Grubnich said. “I still
have a long way to go. I don’t plan on
thinking about where I stand tomorrow, but just try to continue to hit good
shots. If I do that, the outcome will
take care of itself.”
Watts, who finished in a tie for 10th at last
year’s event, posted an impressive 2-under-par 70 today and also finds himself
in contention.
“I played really consistently today,” said Watts, a soon-to-be
freshman at Ball State University. “This
is a really solid field and it feels great to be in this position. My play today has given me confidence heading
into tomorrow.”
Five players are within two shots of the lead after firing
1-under-par 71s today. Those players are
Quentyn Carpenter of Bourbon, David Hildebrand of Carmel, David Mills of
Evansville, Justin Tereshko of Madison, and Andrew Varner of Gas City.
After day two, the field will be cut to the low sixty
players and ties.