Scoring aplenty, but Reichert remains on top at Porter Cup
Jul. 24—Thirty-six holes allowed for plenty of movement on the leaderboard Friday at the 62nd Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club, but the name at the top entering the marathon day remained there at the end.
East Amherst's Ben Reichert, playing in his sixth Porter Cup, retained his lead after rounds two and three, opening the day with an even-par 70 before carding a bogey-free 67 in the third round to finish at 9-under, one stroke up on Massachusetts' Chris Francoeur and Norway's Herman Sekne.
Francoeur, who is heading to Louisville for a final season after a four-year career at Rhode Island, followed an opening 68 with another 68 and a third-round 66, birdying four of the course's six holes on Friday's second 18.
Sekne, who plays collegiately at Purdue, was one of four players to card a 65 on Friday, birdying seven holes to go with a pair of bogeys in his third round after playing the second round even.
In all, 15 players carded scores of 3-under or better during Friday's two rounds.
Elmira, Ontario's Garrett Rank, the NHL referee and field's top-ranked player (No. 43 in World Amateur Golf Ranking) playing in his 10th Porter Cup, set the pace Friday, shooting a tournament-low 7-under 63 in the third round to jump into fourth place. He carded an eagle, six birdies and a bogey after shooting even par through two rounds.
Cade Breitenstine (Akron, Ohio/Kent State) and Ethan Ng (New York City/Stanford) are tied for fifth at 6-under, Breitenstine thanks to a second-round 65 an Ng playing slow and steady with rounds of 67, 68 and 69.
Laurent Desmarchais (Quebec/Tennessee) was the day's biggest mover, recovering from an opening-round 74 with rounds of 66 and 65 to move to 5-under and seventh place.
Five players — James Imai (Brookline, Massachusetts/Northwestern), Carson Bacha (York, Pennsylvania/Auburn), Brandon Berry (Great Falls, Virginia/Loyola Maryland), Connor Glynn (Waconia, Minnesota/Minnesota) and Colby Patton (Clemson, South Carolina/Clemson) — are tied for eighth at 4-under.
Locally, Anthony Delisanti (Niagara Wheatfield/Valparaiso) bounced back from a first-round 73 with a 2-under 68. He shot 72 in round three and sits tied for 33rd.
Matthew Pawlak (NW/Niagara) is 59th at 9-over; Niagara Falls Police Detective Paul Kudela, the NFCC club champion, is tied for 70th with Grand Island's Nicholas Morreale, last year's club champ, at 20-over; Lewiston-Porter junior-to-be Rocco Randazzo is 72nd at 23-over; and Niagara head coach Stosh Kajfasz (Niagara Falls) is 73rd at 31-over.
The fourth and final round tees off today at 8 a.m. The lead group, Reichert, Francoeur and Sekne, are set to get going at noon.
62nd Porter Cup
Third Round Leaderboard
Plase Name To Par R1 R2 R3 Total
1 Ben Reichert -9 64 70 67 201
T2 Chris Francoeur -8 68 68 66 202
T2 Herman Sekne -8 67 70 65 202
4 Garrett Rank -7 68 72 63 203
T5 Cade Breitenstine -6 70 65 69 204
T5 Ethan Ng -6 67 68 69 204
7 Laurent Desmarchais -5 74 66 65 205
T8 James Imai -4 70 69 67 206
T8 Carson Bacha -4 69 68 69 206
T8 Brandon Berry -4 67 71 68 206
T8 Connor Glynn -4 67 68 71 206
T8 Colby Patton -4 66 73 67 206
