Kansas University golfers Jason deBuhr and Andy Stewart and Wichita State’s Jason Novascone and Nick Underwood could be pretty tired of each other by the end of the week.
Playing in the same foursome Tuesday at Alvamar, the two pairs of collegians both carded 6-under-par 66s and share the lead after the first round of stroke play at the Kansas Golf Assn. Four-Ball Championship.
The duo of Jayhawks and Shockers also are paired together during today’s second round, after which the top 32 teams qualify for match play. Chances are deBuhr/Stewart and Novascone/Underwood would meet again during match play, possibly even during Saturday’s 36-hole championship.
“It’s going to be a pretty good battle (today) to see which one of us can take it deeper,” Stewart said of the showdown. “We’re fighting for that No. 1 seed. I imagine we’ll see them again.”
Leawood’s Ron Brewer and Overland Park’s Len Johnsen Jr. are two strokes off the pace, followed closely by the Byron Shultz/Justin Strausbaugh and Chris Marshall/Tony Winslow tandems at 69.
The projected cut for match play is 144.
“I just hit it pretty good,” said Marshall, a third-year sophomore-to-be at KU. “My partner hit it well. He had a couple up-and-downs. I didn’t putt real well. I could have taken it real low, but I’m happy with it. We played real hard.”
Marshall and Winslow, a former golf pro from Overland Park, were able to rally after a double-bogey on No. 17 their eighth hole after starting on No. 10.
The Brewer-Johnsen tandem started fast and was 5-under after 12 holes, but suffered bogeys on Nos. 13 and 16 before finishing with a birdie.
Novascone and Underwood finished with eight birdies including three on their first four holes, Nos. 10, 12 and 13 against bogeys on the par-4 No. 14 and Par-5 No. 17.
“We played real well,” said Underwood, who set a course record Saturday at Eagle Bend. “We had two bogeys two bad bogeys and made a helluva lot of birdies.”
Added Stewart, “They were pushing us quite a bit. They got off hot. They birdied three out of the first four holes so we were pretty much trying to catch them all day.”
Of course, Stewart knows a thing or two about the four-ball format. He teamed with former KU All-American Chris Thompson to win the championship in 1998, the last time it was at Alvamar.
Perhaps that was why he was nonplussed by the first-round success.
“It’s way too early,” Stewart said. “We just want to try and get through and be a top-four seed.”
During the two qualifying rounds of stroke play the strategy is more tweaking yourself than trouncing your competition.
“You just kind of get a feel for how you and your partner play together,” Stewart said. “Know where his strengths are and where your weaknesses are and try and match them up, not make any bogeys.”
After today’s second round of stroke play, match play begins with two rounds Thursday, then the quarterfinals Friday morning, the semifinals Friday afternoon and a 36-hole championship Saturday.