Daniel McCarthy, 2018 champ, leads Fuhrer; Irwin's Dan Obremski lurking

Daniel McCarthy couldn’t be blamed if he went to bed early Monday night.

Sunday, he flew from Utah to Detroit and then drove to Pittsburgh to compete in the annual Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational at Pittsburgh Field Club. Despite getting only two hours of sleep, McCarthy was able to grab a one-shot lead over Penn-Trafford graduate Dan Obremski as the field of 40 played 36 holes during Day 1 of the tournament.

McCarthy, the 2018 champion, shot a 2-under-par 68 in the opening round, then a hot putter helped him shoot a 6-under 64 for an 8-under 132. He played in the Korn Ferry Tour Utah Championship in Farmington over the weekend and tied for 52nd.

Obremski followed his 3-under 67 in the first round with a 4-under 66 for a 7-under 133, his best start at the tournament.

“I shot a 67 and 68 two years ago,” Obremski said. “It was kind of a flip-flop of rounds. I hit about every fairway and every green on my first 18 and hung in there and shot a good score. The second round, I missed just about every fairway, but I had a really strong finish by birdieing four of my final five holes.”

On No. 18, Obremski came within a foot of getting a hole-in-one when his 7-iron from 202 yards just missed the cup.

“I birdied all three par 3s on the backside, which helped,” Obremski said. “I had strong iron play, which was pretty key. I made two crucial putts.”

Obremski knows there is a long way to go. He said he expects the course to play a lot tougher the next two days, and things will get a lot tighter.

“I like the position I’m in,” Obremski said. “Hopefully, the next two days I can hit good shots and have a good mindset.”

Last year’s winner, Michael Gligic, who played two rounds in the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage on June 18-19, stayed in the hunt by rebounding from a 1-over 71 with a 5-under 65 in the second round. He is tied for third at 4-under 136 with first-round leader Riley Wheeldon, who followed his 65 with a 71.

“I’ve been hitting the ball really well, but I’ve struggled on the greens and I got off to a rough start,” Gligic said. “I turned it around, had a nice lunch and put a good round together.

“This is a special place, Pittsburgh Field Club, and Mr. Fuhrer does so much for golf. It’s a pleasure to be part of such a great event.”

Three-time winner David Bradshaw of Harper’s Ferry, W.Va., is fifth at 3-under after shooting a 6-under 64 in the second round. Bradshaw has a torn ACL from a skiing accident during the winter.

“I messed it up pretty good,” he said.

Three local golfers — amateur Jack Katarincic of Pittsburgh, Anthony Muscato of Gibsonia and Michael Van Sickle of Wexford — are tied for sixth with two others at 2-under.

Amateur Palmer Jackson, a Franklin Regional grad and rising sophomore at Notre Dame, is at 3-over. Amateur Jimmy Myers of Wexford, Tommy Nettles of McMurray and former PGA Tour player Steve Wheatcroft of Washington are at 4-over. Justin Moose of Irwin is 9-over, and Austin Lemieux is 16-over.