Top seeds win 13 of 16 in first round of match play

By Al Edenloff and Jake Sutherlin

Alexandria Echo Press

Dominant performances from the top two seeds in the Resorters Men’s Senior division showcased some of the strength on hand in this year’s edition. But five different matches went to extra holes, highlighted by the No. 29 seed Al Hagen who took down the No. 4 seed Lance Sunder.

Aldrich def.

Whitbeck, 6-5

Top-seeded Mark

Aldrich, whose 5-under (67) topped the Men’s Seniors qualifying round, took care of business in the first round of match play ousting No. 32. Todd Whitbeck. Alrich carded two birdies and won seven of the first nine holes. Whitbeck won one hole on the front nine but ran out of time to make a comeback.

Frieburg def.

Marlow, 6-4

The No. 16 seed Rick Frieberg used five birdies to defeat No. 17 Chad Marlow. Marlow picked up a birdie and a win on hole 10 but was unable to overcome a stellar round of golf from Frieberg.

Howard def.

Peterson, 5-4

Using four birdies, the No. 8 seed Curt Howard took care of No. 25 Paige Peterson. Peterson tallied two birdies and won a couple of holes but was eliminated in the first round of the Men’s Senior match play.

S. Larson def. Williams, 2-1

The No. 9 seed Scott Larson knocked off the No. 24 seed Opie Williams in a back-andforth contest that featured a lone birdie from Larson on hole 11.

Hagen def. Sunder, 21 holes

The biggest upset of the first round came by way of the No. 29 seed Al Hagen who toppled the No. 4 seed, Lance Sunder. The pair matched each other step for step their final five holes before Hagen was able to put it away and earn his spot in the second round. Sunder tallied three birdies to Hagen’s one but took too many costly bogeys.

M. Larson def. McLeod, 19 holes

The No. 13 seed Michael Larson tallied the lone birdie on the front nine on the first hole in his matchup with the No. 20 seed Brant McLeod. Larson posted two more birdies on the back nine, but McLeod tallied an eagle on hole 12 and a clutch birdie on hole 17 to level the tie and take it to extra holes, where he lost out to Larson.

Haugen def. Holt, 19 holes

The No. 5 seed Chris Haugen tallied two early birdies to take an early lead on the No. 28 seed Scott Holt. Holt responded with a birdie of his own on hole 6 to enter the back nine down one. Haugen regained a two-stroke lead with a birdie on hole 11, and both golfers birdied hole 12. A bogey from Haugen opened the door on hole 17, and Holt forced a tiebreaker with a birdie on hole 18, but Haugen was able to hold on for the win.

Freeman def.

Schneiderhan, 1-up

With birdies on the first two holes, the No. 12 seed Jon Freeman jumped out to an early lead over the No. 21 seed Todd Schneiderhan. Those were the only birdies of the match, and Freeman hung on to advance to the second round of match play.

Lyczewski rallied with a birdie win on No. 6 to tie it, only to lose the next hole with a bogey. Both parred No. 8 before Lyczewski tied the match again with a par on the 9th hole.

After that, it was all Lcyzewski. He put together a trio of wins – pars on No. 10 and 11 and a birdie on No. 12, which put him 3-up. Lyczewski matched Dilley on the next four holes to preserve the win.

Bowen

def. Fitzgerald

Match stats unavailable at press time.

Ystebo

def.

Nygaard, 20 holes

The Jeff Nygaard/Daniel Ystebo match had a little bit of everything –eight birdies, constant momentum shifts, a late rally, and two extra holes.

Ystebo built a 2-up advantage on the front nine, topped by back-toback birdies on No. 7 and 8.

Lehman took No. 11, and his birdie on No. 12 put him in the lead. Lehman made another birdie on No 14 to go 2-up. Hill tried to rally back with a par win on No. 16 to slice the lead to one.

Montplaisir def. J. Pederson, 4-3

Larry Montplaisir got off to a sizzling start against Jeff Pederson and fended off a late rally to earn a 4-3 win.

Adams def. Berg, 3-2

David Adams and Chris Berg battled through 16 holes before Adams came out on top.

Both golfers halved the first five holes before Adams finally broke the stalemate by winning No. 6 with a par. They matched pars on the next two holes and settled for bogeys on No. 9, which left Adam’s slim lead to one.

Lindberg

def. Gardiner, 6-4

Last year’s Men’s Masters champion opened his match play with a birdie and won the first five holes to jump out to a commanding early lead that the No. 31 seed John Gardiner could never recover from. Lindberg added another birdie on hole 12, and Gardiner scored a birdie on hole 8.

They halved Nos. 10, 11, 12 (highlighted by birdies), and 13 before Nygaard roared back. Nygaard wook No. 14, 15, and 17, going birdie, par, birdie to steal the lead.

Ystebo was able to make par on No. 18, while Nygaard faltered with a bogey that sent the match into sudden death. Ystebo won on the second extra hole.

Lehman def. Hill, 1-up

Montplaisir struck for six wins on the front –birdies on No. 1, 5, and 6, pars on 3, 8 and 9. Pederson, meanwhile, won just one hole – a par on No. 7 and trailed by five at the turn.

Pederson made a match out of it with two straight birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, but Montplaisir stopped the bleeding with a birdie on No. 12 to go 4-up.

Lyczewski def. Dilley, 3-2

They each made par on Nos. 10 and 11 before Berg turned the match on its ear with an eagle on the par-5 12th that tied the match. Berg, however, was unable to build on the momentum. He lost the next two holes with bogeys, putting Adams 2-up.

They both swapped pars on No. 15, and Adams’ par win on No. 16 gave him a 3-2 victory.

Pokorney

def. O’Neil, 19 holes

The No. 18 seed Mark Pokorney used an extra hole to pull off one of just three first-round upsets over the No. 15 seed Tim O’Neil in the Men’s Masters. It was a back-and-forth match that featured two birdies from O’Neil and one from Pokorney, whose par on hole 18 sent the pair to a tiebreaker.

A rollercoaster match ended with Mike Lehman clawing his way to a 1-up win over Todd Hill.

Both golfers won three holes on the front nine: Lehman with pars on Nos. 2 and 5 and a birdie on No. 6, while Hill took No. 1 with par, No. 8 with birdie, and No. 9 with par.

Hill took his second lead of the match with a par on No. 10, but it quickly faded when

Mark Lyczewski was able to erase an early charge by David Dilley and then won three straight holes on Nos. 10, 11, and 12 to take a commanding lead.

Dilley grabbed the first lead with a par on No.1, but Lyczewski answered with back-to-back par wins on Nos. 2 and 3. Dilley came back with a par win on No. 4, and a birdie on No. 5 gave him the lead.

O’Neil - 76; 16. Rich Frieburg - 77; 17. Chad Marlow - 77; 18. Mark Pokorney -77; 19. Jeff Pederson - 77; 20. Brant McLeod - 78; 21. Todd Schneiderhan - 78; 22. Christ Berg - 78; 23. Daniel Ystebo - 78; 24. Opie Williams - 78; 25. Paige Peterson - 78; 26. William Fitzgerald - 78; 27. David Dilley - 79; 28. Scott Holt - 79; 29. Al Hagen - 79; 30. Todd Hill - 79; 31. John Gardiner - 79; 32. Todd Whitbeck - 80

WEDNESDAY MATCH PLAY -

1ST HOLE

8:12 a.m. Mark Aldrich vs Rich Frieburg; Curt Howard vs Scott Larson

8:21 a.m. Al Hagen vs Michael Larson; Chris Haugen vs Jon Freeman

8:30 a.m. Mark Lindberg vs Mark Pokorney; Greg Bowen vs Daniel Ystebo

8:39 a.m. Mike Lehman vs Larry Montplaisir; Mark Lyczewski vs David Adams