Traci grabs 1st-round lead
Tony Traci encountered little trouble through his first 10 holes Monday on the first day of the Tri-State PGA Championship at Valley Brook Country Club.
He recorded three birdies on the final five holes of the front nine and added another on the 10th. But he ran into trouble on No. 11.
“I hit it behind a tree off the tee, hit the tree and hit it up around the green and chipped a few times,” Traci said.
Traci, of South Hills Country Club, triple-bogeyed the hole, but quickly rebounded with three more birdies before his round ended. Traci finished as the leader with a 4-under 68 in the first round of the twoday, 36-hole tournament.
Traci will have little room for error on the second day. Twelve other golfers shot below par on the first day, including five who are one stroke off the lead: Bob Ford and Reid Howey of Oakmont Country Club, Joe Boros of Treesdale Golf and Country Club, Michael Papson of Valley Brook and Kevin Shields of The Club at Nevillewood.
The top five finishers after will qualify for the 2016 PGA Professional National Championship June 26-29 at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y. Barry Evans of Berry Hills Country Club and Jason Martin of Wheeling Country Club are exempt because of past performances in the national tournament.
Traci previously qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship in 2012, but he never has played in the tournament because of time conflicts with the local Fuhrer Invitational
f he qualifies today, his participation in the national tournament likely will depend on the timing of the Fuhrer Invitational next year. Traci was very pleased with his openinground performance.
“This is as good as I’ve played, except for the one hole,” Traci said.
Ford, one of the golfers who finished at 3-under 69, won the tournament a record eight times between 1980 and 2006. Although he wasn’t thrilled with his putting Monday, Ford, 61, has his sights set on his first victory in the tournament since 2006.
Recently, Ford did not think he was still capable of winning the event. Then, he finished sixth a year ago, and his outlook changed.
“I was just kind of going through the motions and not playing very well,” Ford said. “But now I’m back, inspired again and trying to play well.”
Not everyone who did well in this event a year ago got off to an encouraging start Monday. For example, Denny Dolci, the 2014 winner, shot a 3-over 75 in the first round.
Traci, due to what he considered “awesome” greens for the opening round, isn’t taking anything for granted.
“We’ve all played enough to know that anything can happen,” Traci said. “You’ve just got to keep [playing] one hole at a time and keep going.”