Familiar face leads Fuhrer
got my clubs at a tournament,” said McCarthy, 32, a Syracuse, N.Y., native who has played two years on the Web.com Tour. “The ones I used were not much different than what I normally play. I knew Mike [Van Sickle] was a Srixon guy so I called him. The clubs were a little shorter, but I have short arms.”
McCarthy is having a good year on the Web.com Tour, making 11 of 13 cuts with three top-six finishes. He has won $93,485 this season, with his biggest check of $24,325 coming at the Club Colombia Championship. He is hoping to top that by winning the $40,000 first prize at the Field Club.
But he and the rest of the 40-man field could have a hard time catching Bradshaw, who tied the course record and tournament scoring record (Indiana CC professional Dan Braun in 2005) when he made eight birdies after an opening three-putt bogey in the morning round. He will go into third round Tuesday with a four-shot lead on Virginia Open and Assistant PGA Professional champion Ryan Zylstra (69-67—136).
Van Sickle, Spencer Mellon of Oakmont and defending champ T.J. Howe of Penn State are five shots back at 137.
Bradshaw will be attempting to win the event for a record-tying fourth time after beating the select field of mini-tour players and club professionals in 2012, 2015 and 2016. Only former Oakmont professional Bob Ford has won the tournament four times, dating to when the event was known as the Pittsburgh Open.
“After I three-putted the first hole, I changed my putting grip,” Bradshaw said. “I said this isn’t going to work. I went back to a more traditional grip and I started rolling the heck out of it.”
So much so Bradshaw made five birdies in a row to close the front nine, the longest putt from 25 feet at the par-4 eighth hole. It was the lowest round Bradshaw posted at the Field Club, which played to 6,752 yards.
“This place is hard,” Bradshaw said.
So is playing without your own clubs.
“I knew Mike [Van Sickle] was a Srixon guy so I called him. The clubs were a little shorter, but I have short arms.” — Dan McCarthy, Web.com player whose clubs did not arrive in time for the start of the tournament