Published: June 06, 2008 04:21 pm      

Fowler, two others tied for Sunnehanna lead

Rickie Fowler did a lot of things right on his way to winning the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions a year ago.

But this year he did himself one better. One shot that is.

Fowler fired a 4-under 66 on Thursday, one stroke better than his best round last year, and is tied for the lead after Day 1 at the 55th Amateur at Sunnehanna Country Club in Westmont.

Australian Michael Foster and California native Rory Hie matched Fowler’s score in the opening round, which started about 90 minutes late thanks to rain and morning fog.

Dan Woltman finished his first round in the Amateur a shot off the lead, and Jin Jeong and Andy Winings were two strokes back, with 2-under 72s.

Local players Sean Brannan and Matt Moot got off to strong starts, with Brannan shooting an even-par 70 and Moot finishing with a 73. John Zack of Cresson, the club champion, carded an 82. Michael Grasso, whose grandmother has been a Sunnehanna Country Club employee for 40 years, shot a 75.

Once play got going, some of the best amateurs in the world got an opportunity to make a run at the 6,868-yard course, which was playing longer as a result of wet fairways, but allowed for better hold on shots to the green.

“Last year, I played solid all four days and didn’t make many mistakes,” said Fowler, of Murrieta, Calif., who just finished his freshman year at Oklahoma State. I took the same mindset and played the same game that I did last year.”

Fowler was even through the front nine, but made a move early on the back, firing three straight birdies at nos. 10-12. He added back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16 but gave a shot back with a bogey at 18.

Fowler returned to this year’s Amateur to defend his title, and will head to San Diego to play in the U.S. Open beginning Thursday. He found out he qualified for the tournament Wednesday morning. Two other players scheduled to compete in the Amateur pulled out when they qualified for the Open, including Fowler’s college teammate, Kevin Tway, and Clemson’s Kyle Stanley.

Foster had three birdies and a bogey on each of the nines for his 4-under start.

“I was pretty solid, and my putting was pretty solid,” Foster said. “My driving was a little haywire, but if something’s going to go wrong, the driver doesn’t matter too much.”

For Hie, it was a memorable day for more than just his strong first round. The University of Southern California golfer and Los Angeles native, put four birdies on his card.

But his bogey-free round was threatened by the arrival of one VIP.

“I caught a glimpse of Arnold Palmer there and I started hitting these bad shots,” Hie said. “Luckily, I got up and down on those shots. I was hitting it real well, then I saw him and I was like, ‘Aw, shoot.’ I couldn’t really breathe out there for a while, but then I got back into my rhythm and made some shots.”

Hie had one of his best efforts in front of the golfing legend when he blasted a 30-yard shot out of a bunker at No. 14 to four feet, and then made the putt for par.

Palmer, meanwhile, was there to watch his grandson, Sam Saunders, who shot a 73, including an eagle at No. 11.

Moot, with father Ron on the bag, was happy with his first effort as a competitor.

“I got off to a rough start, bogeyed nos. 1 and 2, then I played pretty well,” said Moot, who qualified for the tournament by winning the Greater Johnstown Open last year. “I had a tough stretch of holes from 8 to 10, where I had a couple bogeys, but I played my last eight holes at 2 under, so I’ll take that any day. I’m going to go from here to (Friday) and feel pretty good about my game.”

Brannan, meanwhile, got his tournament started well.

“I’ve got some confidence going,” said Brannan, who rushed from the first round to his high school graduation at Hollidaysburg. “There’s maybe one or two things to work on in my swing, but it’s going pretty well.”