SCORING | ROUND 2 STARTING TIMES
APOLLO — Daniel Donahue’s opening round of the 123rd WPGA Open Championship couldn’t have ended much cleaner.
Donahue, a senior on the John Carroll men’s golf team, ripped off a 7-under score of 65 in the first round of the West Penn Open Monday at Willowbrook Country Club.
“I started off hot,” said Donahue, who started on the tenth hole and posted four birdies in his first six holes. “A bunch of putts went in early, which was good to see. It got the confidence going.
“I just continued to hit the fairways, hit the greens, and then left myself like 10 to 15 foot putts. If it went in, it went in. But, obviously, a lot of them went in, so it was nice.”
Donahue, a Pittsburgh native who graduated from Central Catholic High School, racked up three more birdies after making the turn and did not post a bogey in the round.
“I had a bogey free round in college a couple of months ago and shot 66,” he said. “But 7-under is my lowest round in competition. That was a lot of fun.”
His chip from a tough position on the sixth hole was his best shot of the day.
“It’s a dog-leg left,” he said. “It was very short-sighted and I hit it to about ten feet and made a par. That was probably my biggest moment of the day to keep the round going.”
Donahue is set to enter his senior year of college this fall, and had plenty of familiar faces waiting for him when he putted out on his final hole. John Carroll teammates Austin Malley and Wade Boyle, who both qualified for the WPGA Open, watched him finish, as did his younger brother, Bailey, another participant Monday.
“It was great to see them, a lot of fun” Donahue said. “I’ve played with them a lot, so it was great seeing them.”
Professionals JF Aber and Talon Kriebel both shot 4-under, good for second place. Amateurs Colton Lusk, Amani D’Ambrosio, Nixon Erdely and Scott Jordan were all 3-under, posting solid rounds on a course that was challenging for the field, but more more gettable on Monday than it may be in coming two days when the temperature rises considerably.
“I thought the course was in great shape,” said Donahue, who like the rest of the field battled through temperatures that reached the high 80s. “The greens were rolling nice and firm, which was surprising with all this rain we've got. Everything was great.
The WPGA Open Championship is a three-round competition over three days. So Donahue’s first round performance — as impressive as it was — is merely just the start of his week. And he plans to keep that mentality as part of his approach when play begins again Tuesday morning.
“I just have to take it one shot at a time and not really think about where I’m at on the leaderboard,” Donahue said. “Just one hole at a time, one shot at a time. And then go from there.”
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