JOHNSTOWN — If you want to win the Sunnehanna Amateur, you have to play and putt well.
Thursday was moving day, and many took advantage of the soft conditions to shoot good scores.
Unfortunately, only one of the Western Pennsylvania players took advantage.
Peters Township’s Connor Schmidt (Drexel) shot a 1-under-par 69 and is 4-under (206) heading into Friday’s round of the 67th annual event held at Sunnehanna Country Club.
Schmidt is five shots behind Preston Summerhays, who shot a 4-under 66 and sits at 9-under 201. Leon D’Souza and Graysen Huff are a shot back at 8-under (202). D’Souza shot a 5-under 65 during the third round and Huff a 3-under 67.
Schmidt is tied for eighth with six other golfers.
“It got a little windy out there, but I still thought it was pretty scorable,” Schmidt said. “You saw some people went 4- and 5-under.
“I thought I executed my game plan almost to a ‘T.’ I hit the ball so well and put myself in a lot of good spots. I hit 16 greens and didn’t make any putts.”
Schmidt said the pins are in a lot of tough positions, and he burnt the edges all day.
“I feel I’m due for a good round (Friday),” Schmidt said. “I feel I’ll take the same approach as Thursday.”
Greensburg’s Mark Goetz is tied for 15th at 3-under par. He shot an even-par 70.
Goetz, a senior at West Virginia, was pleased with his start and made one mistake that cost him a bogey.
“I lipped out twice,” Goetz said. “I hit 17 greens, played pretty well, but I just couldn’t get any putts the fall. I ran the edge three times during my final three holes. I’m hoping for a good start and try to take it deep.”
Murrysville’s Palmer Jackson is 1-under after shooting a 3-over 73, and Fox Chapel’s Gregor Meyer survived the cut of lowest 60 and ties by shooting 3-over 73. He sits at 2-over. Meyer earned $400 pro shop credit for placing third in the long drive contest.
Jackson just couldn’t get it going, though he had great par saves on Nos. 11 and 12. He had three bogeys on the front nine and was even on the back.
“I just have to get off to a better start,” Jackson said. “I feel I’m capable of it. There is no pressure on me. I just want to go out and post a low score.”
Meyer said his No. 1 goal was trying to shoot under par the first three rounds and then go after it on the final day.
“I’m happy I qualified for the fourth day,” Meyer said. “It’s the biggest tournament I’ve ever played in. It’s been a lot of fun to play and meet all these guys. I know I’m capable of playing with them, I just need to put all the things together for four rounds.”
Missing the cut were New Castle’s Evan Long (4-over), Brookville’s Nathan Smith (8-over) and Oakmont’s Sean Knapp (10-over). Knapp shot an even-par 70 during the third round.
