At 6-under-par, Noah Mullens of Milton has a one-shot lead after two rounds in the 106th West Virginia Amateur Championship at The Greenbrier.
The tournamentƵs first round was played on the Meadows course on Sunday before MondayƵs second round on The Old White TPC, a course played by both the PGA and LIV professional tours.
The event will alternate between the two layouts, finishing with The Old White on Wednesday.
With a 2-under second-round score of 68, Mullens, the 2022 Amateur champion, leads the field by one. Owen Elliott of Falling Waters, West Virginia, sits just behind at 5-under after a late-round eagle propelled him to prime position.
Elliott, Mullens and third-place holder Cam Roam of Hurricane are the only golfers to finish under par in each of the first two rounds.
Chris Slack, the executive director of the West Virginia Golf Ƶsociation, said the courses have been playing in optimal conditions.
ƵIt rained all day last Tuesday, a lot of the day Wednesday and Thursday and then went off and on Friday,Ƶ Slack said. ƵIt was really windy during practice rounds, but once the sun came up on Saturday, we havenƵt seen any rain.
ƵBoth courses have dried out well.Ƶ
It certainly played well for Brian Anania of Scott Depot in the first round. He shot a 6-under 64 to finish one shot shy of the Meadows record and hold the lead, but a second-round total of 4-over sits him in a tie for fourth with reigning champion Christian Brand.
Only 10 players finished under the par of 70 on the Meadows in round one. Slack points out the difference between the Meadows, more of a resort layout, and The Old White. In round two, The Old White only allowed four golfers to go under Ƶ Mullens, Elliott, Roam and Brand.
ƵThe Meadows really showed its teeth yesterday, as a whole,Ƶ Slack said. ƵWe had a handful of rounds under par, and BA shot a 64, but today, the setup on The Old White is tough.Ƶ
For many of the golfers in the field, it may be one of the only chances to play a course as strong as The Old White.
ƵThe setup today is probably harder than IƵve done in the past before the cut, but itƵs a great test of golf that a lot of these guys donƵt get to see,Ƶ Slack said. ƵEven if theyƵre shooting a big number, theyƵll look back and enjoy this.Ƶ
BrandƵs 3-under round was the best in round two as he shot up the ladder. He birdied two of his final four holes, including the daunting 564-yard par-5 No. 17 that is often considered a good spot to go low.
The hole features fairway bunkers, referred to as DragonƵs Teeth, that flank common first-shot locations. It creates a risk-reward strategy to reach the green tough in two or or safe for an easy par. It yielded the most par-breakers in round two.
But Elliott showed that with dragonƵs risk comes monstrous reward. He eagled No. 17 in one of the final groupings. It launched him to a solo spot in second. On the day, the Old White let up three eagles, and ElliottƵs came at the right time.
But it was MullensƵ day to lead. Finishing at 2-under par, Mullens shook off two bogeys with three birdies on the back nine, including one of just 14 birdies on the dogleg No. 16 that covers 300 yards of water from the tee.
Slack said the top-end group of amateurs has met expectations.
ƵChristian Brand played professionally for 10 or 11 years. He was on the Korn Ferry for a while and break the record last year,Ƶ Slack said. ƵBut Noah Mullens won this thing three years ago, and heƵs been playing really good golf. Brian Anania was our 2014 champion. Cam Roam is always in contention. Owen Elliott is a panhandle guy that won our junior amateur.
ƵThe leaderboard is kind of what weƵve expected in terms of who is there. Maybe not the order, but I think everyone really expected the guys that are in the mix in the top 10 or 20 players.Ƶ
Recent Marshall graduate Ryan Bilby shot a 67 in round one and was tied for third place entering day two, but a 5-over total on The Old White sits him in top-10 contention entering the third round with a tournament total of 2-over par.
Other local stars include Jack Michael, a state champion from Cabell Midland who will play at ƵU next fall. HeƵs tied for sixth at 1-over par and is the lone Mountaineers representative in the field. Carson Higgenbotham, a 16-year-old from Clarksburg, is also in the mix for a top-10 spot.
Slack said the Callaway Junior Tour has been the place to see local talent rise to the top as Michael, Higgenbotham and the contenders mentioned all went through its circuit.
ƵThat was a thing I touched on in our playersƵ dinner the other night Ƶ out of this field that I scroll through, all but maybe one in the top 20 either played on the junior tour or is currently playing on it,Ƶ Slack said. ƵThey play there, move on to college and get jobs and we still see them. For those that stay around at Marshall or ƵU Ƶ thatƵs really fun to watch.Ƶ
The cut of 15-over par leaves 51 golfers in the hunt entering the final two rounds of the event that will begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
Marshall golfers Bilby, Joseph Kalaskey, Cameron Jarvis, Sammy Shy, Clayton Thomas, Tanner Vest and Jackson Woodburn each have made the cut.
ƵExpect a lot of good golf in the next couple of days,Ƶ Slack said. ƵI wouldnƵt be surprised if we see a lot of guys go under on the Meadows tomorrow.Ƶ
