Francoeur shines in opening round of U.S. Amateur Championship

Nick Giannino, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·2 min read

Aug. 16—In just a couple of weeks, Chris Francoeur will head to Nebraska to begin what he hopes will be a successful journey on to professional golf's Korn Ferry TOUR.

On Monday morning in Paramus, N.J., the former St. John's Prep star got a real taste of what that competition may look like.

Competing in this year's U.S. Amateur for the first time in his young career, Francoeur dazzled in his opener. He fired a 3-under par 68 at host Ridgewood Country Club to grab a share of the early lead at the prestigious event. A total of 312 golfers are in this year's field, and Francoeur finds himself at the very top of the leaderboard heading into Tuesday's second and final round of stroke play.

"It was really cool out there; definitely different than any other event I've played," said Francoeur. "A lot more people watching and it almost feels like you're playing a tour event."

Originally slotted as a first-alternate after a solid performance in his qualifying round out in Pittsfield, MA, Francoeur was bumped into the U.S. Am. field due to a technicality that saw one of his former Louisville teammates get in via exemption. After seeing what he did in Monday's opener, it's clear Francoeur belonged.

Francoeur lit the course on fire, getting as low as 5-under par through 15 holes before recording a couple of late bogeys coming home. He had birdies on Nos. 1, 3, 10, 12, 17 and 18 to go with three bogeys and nine pars. He's now in excellent shape to advance to the do-or-die, 64-player match play bracket, which will commence on Wednesday morning.

"I was hitting it pretty well and made a few good putts," Francoeur said of his round on Monday. "Overall I'm happy with the start. The courses are pretty tough, just have to take it one shot at a time."

Having already played Ridgewood, Francoeur will tee off at fellow host club Arcola Country Club on Tuesday for the final round of stroke play. Should he post anything near what he did on Day 1, he should comfortably advance to match play.

"Going into today I just wanted to stay in the present and take it one shot at a time," he said. "So I'm just going to do the same thing tomorrow and see what happens."

Also competing on Monday was Swampscott's Christian Emmerich. The rising Holy Cross senior managed an 8-over par 79 in his opener and will have his work cut out for him on Tuesday. He's currently in a tie for 214th place overall.

Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.