Oakmont bares its teeth, humbles field in second round of PA Open

So you think Oakmont Country Club can be had? You may want to rethink that.

Yes, there are times the mighty grand old course hovering above the Allegheny River will produce low scores. Johnny Miller’s 63 during the final round of the 1973 U.S. Open is an example.

But more times than not, Oakmont bares its teeth, makes golfers pay for their mistakes and humbles the field.

The 120 golfers playing in the second round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s 104thOpen found that out the hard way Tuesday.

During the second round, only two players broke par — Peters Township’s Connor Schmidt and Newtown’s Calen Sanderson. Both shot a 1-under par 70. No players were under par after two rounds.

Many of the golfers were in survival mode. If you were close to even, you still had a shot at the title.

There were 22 golfers within five shots of the lead.

Others atop the leaderboard were Peters Township’s Jimmy Ellis, one of three players at even par. The others are Cole Wilcox of Malvern and Christopher Crawford of Bensalem.

Tied for fourth, a shot back at 1-over, were five players including Schmidt, who was the 2019 West Penn Amateur winner at Oakmont, and Greensburg native Mark Goetz.

Schmidt said he’s in a good place heading to the final round.

“With how Oakmont is, we’ve learned the last few years anything can happen,” Schmidt said. “People 4-over probably have a chance. You can make birdies out here. The biggest thing you have to limit the mistakes.”

Schmidt had five birdies during his round.

Goetz birdied his final hole, No. 18, to finish with a 2-over 73.

Six players are tied for ninth, two shots back. That group includes Irwin’s Dan Obremski, Wexford’s Michael Van Sickle and Indiana’s Matt Holuta.

“You can hit good shots and still not be in good shape,” Obremski said after he shot a 1-over par 72 to sit 3-over for the tournament. “It played a lot tougher (Tuesday). The wind and pin placements made it difficult.”

Van Sickle said he was just happy to finish even and feels he still has a shot at the title.

“I still have a shot,” Van Sickle said. “That’s all I was hoping for. The wind made it tough.”

It wasn’t a good day for first-round leader Tommy Nettles of Peters Township. He shot a 10-over par 81 and is 6-over for the tournament.

“The key is keeping things in front of you,” Nettles said. “I didn’t do that well enough, and it cost me”

Nettles shot a 4-under par 67 on Monday.

“I didn’t do much right,” Nettles said. “I didn’t drive it well enough. I didn’t make putts.”

Carey Bina, who shot 3-under during the first round, was cruising along in the lead while others struggled. Then disaster struck. He introduced himself to the ‘Big Mouth’ bunker on No. 17

After he bogeyed No. 13, he was 1-over for the day and still in good shape. But he bogeyed No. 16, had a 4-over par 8 on No. 17 and bogeyed No. 18. He finished with a 7-over par 78 and is 4-over for the tournament.

He was in Big Mouth and the bunker on the opposite side of the green twice each.

Pennsylvania Golf Association

104th Open Championship

Oakmont Country Club, par 71

Tuesday’s second round

T1. Jimmy Ellis 71-71—142

T1. Cole Wilcox 71-71—142

T1. Christopher Crawford 71-71—142

T4. Troy Vannucci 72-71—143

T4. Calen Sanderson 73-70—143

T4. William Davenport 70-73—143

T4. Connor Schmidt 73-70—143

T4. Mark Goetz 70-73—143

T9. Michael Van Sickle 74-71—145

T9. Jeff Osberg 71-74—145

T9. J.D. Domes 73-72—145

T9. Anthony Sebastianelli 74-71—145

T9. Dan Obremski 73-72—145

T9. Matt Holuta 69-76—145

T15. Nathan Suhterland 71-75—146

T15. Carey Bina 68-78—146

T15. Travis Howe 71-75—146