underdogs were able to advance

By Al Edenloff and Jared Rubado

Alexandria Echo Press

Defending champion

Troy Johnson and medalist Bryan Hoops both survived opening round play in the Resorters Men’s Executive Championship Wednesday.

For the most part, it was not a day for the underdogs. The biggest upset of the round was 26th seeded Dave Fingalsen’s 1-up victory over the seventh-seed, Mike Williams.

Maybe today will be the day for the longshots? Thursday’s action starts at 12:55 p.m. from the No. 1 tee.

Here’s a recap of what went on during a very windy Wednesday. (All matches started from the No. 10 tee.)

Hoops def.

Fischer, 7-5

It was an early afternoon for Hoops. He put away his opponent, Matt Fischer in 13 holes.

The match was fairly close at the start. Hoops won No. 10 with par but Fischer stayed with him on the next two holes, halving par and birdie on Nos. 11 and 12. Hoops padded his lead with par wins on Nos. 13 and 14 but Fischer struck for a par win on No. 15 to pull within two. Hoops just seemed to get hotter as the day wore on, winning Nos. 16 and 17 with pars to go 4-up. Fischer won his second hole, a par on No. 18, but trailed by three at the turn.

From there, it was all Hoops. He won the next four holes with two birdies, a par and another birdie to close out the match, 7-5.

After 13 holes, Hoops was 2-under-par –a similar pace to his 1-under-par medalist round.

Champlin def. Nygaard, 8-7

Herbie Champlin didn’t waste any time against Troy Nygaard. He won the first three holes with pars to quickly go 3-up. Nygaard matched Champlin’s par on No. 13, but Champlin reeled off three more straight wins on No. 14, 15 and 16, going par, birdie, birdie to go 6-up.

Nygaard won his first hole, a par on 17, but lost the next hole to Champlin’s par and trailed by six at the turn.

Champlin also didn’t waste time in ending the match. He won No. 1 with a birdie and No. 2 with par for an 8-7 victory.

Andrew Petersen def. Cattoor, 5-3

Andrew Petersen lost just two holes to Chris Cattoor – No. 10 to Cattoor’s birdie and No. 18 when Petersen double-bogeyed. Otherwise, it was pretty much Petersen’s day.

Petersen won four of the first nine holes –Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 16 with two birdies sandwiched between two pars – and was 2-up.

After they crossed the road to the front nine, Petersen didn’t lose any steam. He won Nos. 2 and 3 with pars to go 4-up and matched Cattoor’s pars on the next two holes before closing out the match with a hole-winning birdie on No. 6.

Paulsen def.

Bright, 7-6

Two big streaks by Nick Paulsen carried him to a 7-6 win over

Pete Bright.

The first streak was on Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13. Paulsen won them all with par, par, birdie, birdie to go 4-up. Bright won No. 16 with a birdie to chop the lead to three but then it was time for another Paulsen streak.

This time it was on Nos. 18, 1, 2 and 3 –all pars that closed out the match in Paulsen’s favor, 7-6.

D. Johnson def. Stennes, 4-2

Dan Johnson grabbed some momentum early, winning four of the first five holes and settling for a par tie on the hole he didn’t win.

Suddenly down by four, Matt Stennes tried to get back into the match with backto-back wins on No. 15 (bogey) and No. 16 (birdie) to slice Johnson’s lead in half. Johnson, however, went back to 3-up with a par on No. 17 only to drop the next hole to Stennes’ par.

Johnson padded his lead to three with a par on No. 1 but Stennes wasn’t done yet. His par took No. 2 and pulled him within two. Johnson won No. 4 with par to go 3-up but Stennes again came back with a par win on No. 5. Johnson dug down and came up with back-to-back wins on the next two holes, thanks to a par and a birdie, to seal a 4-2 win.

Heimsness def. Harris, 4-3

This was a tale of two matches. Joel Harris jumped out to an early lead, winning Nos. 12, 14 and 15 while Eric Heimsness managed just one win, a par on No. 13 and trailed by two after seven holes.

Then the momentum shifted. Heimsness won six straight holes, starting with pars on No. 17, 18 and 1, adding a birdie on No. 2, and settling for bogey wins on Nos. 3 and 4. Heimsness found himself 4-up with just five holes left to play. He matched Harris’ bogey on No. 5 and his par on No. 6 to wrap up a 4-3 win.

Sieve def. Anthony Petersen, 5-4

Patrick Sieve steadily built a solid lead, winning the first three holes with a par followed by two birdies. Andrew Petersen finally broke through with a par on No. 13 but Sieve won No. 15 with par and No. 18 with par to go 4-up at the turn.

Sieve won Nos. 1 and 2 with birdie, par to go and 4 put him in a hole he couldn’t dig out of against one of the tournament favorites. Johnson, who bogeyed just two holes on Wednesday, will look to keep his match play winning streak alive against Chad Marlow.

Marlow def. Cullen, 4-3

Chad Marlow never let 18th-seeded John Cullen make a run at a comeback on Wednesday in his 4-3 victory.

6-up. Petersen delivered some excitement by winning Nos. 3 and 4 with par, bogey but Sieve closed out the match, 4-3, with a par win on No. 5.

Schomer def.

Buchholz, 4-3

Daryl Schomer was 1-under-par in his match against Aaron Buchholz who was 7-over-par, so it wasn’t too surprising that Schomer was able to ride out a 4-3 victory.

Schomer’s game was sizzling from the beginning. He won four of the first nine holes –Nos. 11 (par), 14 (birdie), 15 (par) and 18 (par). Buchholz showed some fight, however, and won No. 12 with an eagle, no less, and also took Nos. 16 and 17 with pars to trail by just one at the turn.

But Buchholz would not win a hole after that. Schomer won No. 1 with an eagle, No. 3 with par and No. 5 with par to go 4-up with just four holes left. Schomer put the match away on the next hole, No. 6, by tying Buchholz’s par.

Troy Johnson def.

VanderPlaats, 4-3

Troy Johnson picked up where he left off in 2020 by shooting 1-under-par in 15 holes on Wednesday. The second seed in the field took care of business against 31st-seeded Aaron VanderPlaats in a 4-3 victory. Johnson birdied his first three holes to start the match before going on a ninehole par streak. VanderPlaats was just 1-overpar on the front nine, but bogeys on Nos. 2, 3

Marlow, the 15-seed, parred the first three holes to go up one before a par and a birdie on No. 16 increased the lead to three. Marlow bogeyed twice to end the back nine to cut the lead to one, but a birdie and a par after the turn got the three-hole advantage back. Marlow parred three out of the last four holes to seal the win over Cullen. Marlow’s hands will be full with the defending champion on Thursday afternoon.

Fingalsen def. Williams, 1-up

Mike Williams did all he could to avoid a firstround upset against Dave Fingalsen. But when the match was squared going into the final hole, it was a par from Fingalsen that got the job done.

Fingalsen led by four holes with six to play after a pair of birdies on the back nine and threestraight hole wins after the turn. Williams capitalized on Fingalsen’s only double bogey of the day to cut the lead to three before three consecutive pars squared the match. Williams’ par streak ran out on No. 9 with a bogey, which sent Fingalsen to the next round.

Stout def. Chad Johnson, 5-3 Breton Stout came into bracket play as the 25th seed with nothing to lose. He cruised past 10th-seeded Chad Johnson on Wednesday.

Stout kicked off the match with a par to go up by one before sinking back-to-back birdies to go up by three. A par on No. 13 won Stout’s fourth consecutive hole.

Johnson staged a comeback midway through the back nine. After a birdie on No. 14 to cut the lead to three, two more pars before the turn dwindled Stout’s lead to one.

Stout got two holes back with a birdie on No. 2 and a par on No. 3. His fourth birdie of the day ended the match on the sixth hole.