By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The inaugural Pete and Alice Dye National Junior Invitational began Tuesday at the most appropriate location there is: Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel.
The club’s membership created the tournament to honor the legacy of the famed golf course designers, who opened Crooked Stick in 1964. The club has gotten international recognition after hosting major professional and amateur championships. Competitors played 36 holes of golf on Tuesday and will finish this morning with an 18-hole round that will determine the champions.
In a tribute to the Indianapolis 500, 33 boys and 33 girls, all among the top juniors in the country, were invited to play, signifying the number of cars that start the race. Hamilton County has several players in the mix, with five boys and three girls in the field.
One of those county players is part of a crowd that sits on top of the boys division leaderboard. Carmel’s Drew Wrightson, who just finished his junior year at Brebeuf Jesuit and is committed to Baylor University, is one of five players that are tied for first place. Wrightson and the others all finished the first 36 holes even at 144.
Wrightson held the lead after the first round, carding a two-under par 70 with a round that included four birdies. He shot a 74 for his second round, again making four birdies.
The five leaders in the boys division include John Daly Jr., son of John Daly, who won the PGA Championship in 1991 at Crooked Stick. Daly, from Clearwater, Fla., and Michael Brennan of Leesburg, Va. both made two-under par 70s in their second round to move into the five-way tie for the lead. Louisville’s John Marshall Butler and Drew Salyers of Howard, Ohio are also part of the tie.
Two more county players are in the top 10 after 36 holes. Noblesville’s Clay Merchent is currently seventh with a total of 149. Merchent shot an even-par 72 in his first round, which included an eagle on the 11th hole and three birdies. Merchent then carded a 77 in the second round, with two birdies.
Merchent hadn’t played an event since Christmas break, as he was recovering from a broken foot.
“First round was good, second round a little sketchy,” said Merchent, who will play for Indiana University this fall.
“I think tomorrow, if I can come out here and hit it around decent, I think there’s a good chance we can make a run for it,” said Merchent.
Right behind Merchent is Luke Prall, a Carmel senior who will play for Purdue University. Prall is in eighth place with a 150; he carded a 76 for his first round, but improved two shots in his second round for a 74. Prall made two birdies in both of his rounds.
“I hit the ball pretty good,” said Prall. “Driver’s about the only thing that cost me, because hitting in the rough out here is difficult.”
Prall last played a competitive round of golf in March, at the Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C. But he was able to adjust back to competition well.
“It was easier than I thought,” said Prall. “I thought I was going to be nervous on the first tee, or on the green, but I wasn’t too bad.”
Noblesville’s Nels Surtani, a Park Tudor senior also headed to Purdue, carded a 77-82=159 for his first 36 holes, making two birdies in the first round and another birdie in the second round.
Clay Stirsman, a Carmel senior committed to Wake Forest, finished with a 78-84=162. Stirsman had one birdie in the first round and three more in the second round.
In the girls division, Jocelyn Bruch, a Westfield senior headed to Purdue, is part of a three-way tie for seventh place with a score of 150. Bruch shot a 76 for her first round and a 74 for the second round, making three birdies in each round.
Carmel’s Angelica Pfefferkorn, a Guerin Catholic senior who has committed to Oklahoma State, scored an 84-82=166. Pfefferkorn made one birdie in the first round and two in her second round.
Katie Kuc, a Carmel junior headed to Xavier University, finished with an 87-81=168. Kuc made one birdie in each round.
Today’s third round begins at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start off the first and 10th holes. Bruch will be the first county player to start off the first tee at 8:50 a.m., with Merchent and Prall both in the 9 a.m. group off No. 1. Wrightson’s group begins play at 9:20 a.m.
Meanwhile, off the 10th tee, Pfefferkorn and Kuc will begin at 8:20 a.m., followed by Stirsman at 8:30 a.m., and Surtani starting at 8:50 a.m.
Noblesville’s Clay Merchent is in seventh place in the boys division after the first two rounds. (Richie Hall_