Golf

July 16. 2012 8:47PM

Windham's Greenleaf off to a good start in U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship

By ROGER BROWN
New Hampshire Union Leader

Connor Greenleaf of Windham follows his shot from the 11th tee during the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at The Golf Club of New England in Stratham on Monday. (DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER)

U.S. Junior Amateur Tee Times

TUESDAY
The Golf Club of New England
Stratham
7 a.m. (tee 1): Richard Hattori, Honolulu, Hawaii; Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y.; Craig Hornberger, Lancaster, Pa.
7 a.m. (tee 10): Corey Eddings, Roseville, Calif.; Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill., Khaled Attieh Saudi Arabia
7:10 a.m. (tee 1): Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif.; Jake Judkins, San Antonio, Texas; George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz.
7:10 a.m. (tee 10): David Logan Watkins, Brighton, Tenn.; Carter Jenkins, Raleigh, N.C.; Trevor Page, Birmingham, Ala.
7:20 a.m. (tee 1): Jeff Swegle, West Des Moines, Iowa; Tyler Kertson, Paradise Valley, Ariz.; Sam Weatherhead, Grand Rapids, Mich.
7:20 a.m. (tee 10): Conrad Hahne, Ramsey, Minn.; Justin Suh, San Jose, Calif.; Keegan McKinney Avon, Ind.
7:30 a.m. (tee 1): David Long Catonsville, Md.; Victor Ponte, Camarillo, Calif.; Brett Rinker, Slippery Rock, Pa.
7:30 a.m. (tee 10): Douglas Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill.; Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala.; Eric Edwards, Salisbury, N.C.
7:40 a.m. (tee 1): Shintaro Ban, San Jose, Calif.; Jordan Lu, Canada; Tim Taylor, Iowa Falls, Iowa
7:40 a.m. (tee 10): Mattthew Loiacano, Jonesboro, Ark.; Jon Pick, Canada; Robert Geibel, Pembroke Pines, Fla.
7:50 a.m. (tee 1): Sam Horsfield, Davenport, Fla.; Hartej Gill, Monroe Township, N.J.; Matthew Mahle, Lexington, Ky.
7:50 a.m. (tee 10): Haoyuan Li, Beaumont, Calif.; Frederick Wedel, The Woodlands, Texas; Dylan Meyer, Evansville, Ind.
8 a.m. (tee 1): Blake Cannon, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Josh Whalen, Canada; Tyler Moore, Escondido, Calif.
8 a.m. (tee 10): Connor Black, Houston, Texas; Robin Kang, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.; Brian Butler, W. Hartford, Conn.
8:10 a.m. (tee 1): Caleb Proveaux, Leesville, S.C.; Jacob Ross, Brookhaven, Miss.; Connor Slane, Helena, Ala.
8:10 a.m. (tee 10): James Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Ryan Stovash, Orlando, Fla.; Andy Hyeon Bo Shim, Duluth, Ga.
8:20 a.m. (tee 1): Chelso Barrett, Keene, N.H.; Luke Graboyes Watchung, N.J.; Tom Swanson Missoula, Mont.
8:20 a.m. (tee 10): Chris Hatch, Mukilteo, Wash.; Austin Banz, Salt Lake City, Utah; Nicholas Crozier, Canada
8:30 a.m. (tee 1): Chase Feagin, Dothan, Ala.; Carson Schaake, Omaha, Neb.; Jackson Weede, Greenville, S.C.
8:30 a.m. (tee 10): Michael Pisciotta, Alpharetta, Ga.; Austin Eoff Benton, Ark.; Nicklaus Baines, Portland, Ore.
8:40 am. (tee 1): David Thompson, Shrewsbury, Mass.; Charles Cai, West Windsor, N.J.; Drew Nesbitt, Canada
8:40 a.m. (tee 10): Austin Rusness, Detroit Lakes, Minn.; Alec Bone, Phoenix, Ariz.; Vincent Whaley, McKinney, Texas
8:50 a.m. (tee 1): Raymond Knoll, Naperville, Ill.; Christian Fairbanks, Columbus, Ind.; Hunter Rappleye, Elk Grove, Calif.
8:50 a.m. (tee 10): Evan McLeod, Pebble Beach, Calif.; Jake Shuman, Needham, Mass.; Tae Wan Lee, Korea
9 a.m. (tee 1): Brad Dalke, McKinney, Texas, Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.; Connor Greenleaf, Windham, N.H.
9 am. (tee 10): Joo-Young Lee, Hilliard, Ohio; Brandon Barrows, Lake Orion, Mich.; Andrew Bonner, Ripon, Calif.
Noon (tee 1): D. Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y.; Eric Ansett, Spokane, Wash.; Travis Benson, Granbury, Texas
Noon (tee 10): John Oda, Honolulu, Hawaii; Will Long, Gastonia, N.C.; Branson Davis, McKinney, Texas
12:10 p.m. (tee 1): Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore.; Victor Fox, Delmar, N.Y.; Brett McIntosh, Canada
12:10 p.m. (tee 10): Isaac Alderete, Albuquerque, N.M.; Reed Hrynewich, Muskegon, Mich.; Ben Schlottman, Advance, N.C.
12:20 p.m. (tee 1): Diego Trevino, Mexico; Richard Hubbard, Daniel Island, S.C.; James Park, Deerfield, Mass.
12:20 p.m. (tee 10): Ryan Celano, Naples, Fla.; Rhett Rasmussen, Draper, Utah; Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind.
12:30 p.m. (tee 1): Joshua Seiple, Castle Rock, Colo.; William Zalatoris, Plano, Texas; Kevin M. Cline, Spring Valley, Calif.
12:30 p.m. (tee 10): Jacob McBride, Hartville, Ohio; Jooho Lee, Canada; Art Griffin, Lake Placid, N.Y.
12:40 p.m. (tee 1): Daniel Levin, New York, N.Y.; Joshua Lee, Orange Park, Fla.; Andrej Bevins, Elk Grove, Calif.
12:40 p.m. (tee 10): Parker Reddig, Minneapolis, Minn., Michael Decker, Pebble Beach, Calif.; Andrew Ertel, The Woodlands, Texas
12:50 p.m. (tee 1): Ryan Orr, Belleair, Fla.; Nolan Ray, Brentwood, Tenn.; Brandon Bauman, Las Vegas, Nev.
12:50 p.m. (tee 10): Brooks Thomas, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Emilio Maurer, Mexico; Matt Oshrine, Baltimore, Md.
1 p.m. (tee 1): Derek Bayley, Rathdrum, Idaho; Nicolo Galletti, Pleasanton, Calif.; Max McGreevy, Oklahoma City, Okla.
1 p.m. (tee 10): Jack Vanderburg, Lubbock, Texas; Eddy Lai, San Jose, Calif.; Kyle Sterbinsky, Yardley, Pa.
1:10 p.m. (tee 1): Alex Angard Encino, Calif.; Nicholas Jan, Northbrook, Ill., Andy Zhang, Peoples Rep. of China
1:10 p.m. (tee 10): Edward Wajda III, Brookfield, Wis.; Mason Fox, Sarasota, Fla.; Christian De La Cruz, San Antonio, Texas
1:20 p.m. (tee 1): Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y.; Clancy Waugh, North Palm Beach, Fla. ; Addison Coll, Arlington, Va.
1:20 p.m. (tee 10): Rigel Fernandes, India; Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas; Will Seger, Jasper, Ind.
1:30 p.m. (tee 1): Jorge Garcia, Venezuela; Graysen Huff, Eagle, Idaho; Eric Ricard, Shreveport, La.
1:30 p.m. (tee 10): David Lee, Houston, Texas; Cameron Champ, Sacramento, Calif.; Sheldon Statkewicz, Mobile, Ala.
1:40 p.m. (tee 1): Danny Guise, Greenwich, Conn.; Timothy Conover, Holly Springs, N.C.; Matthew Scobie, Canada
1:40 p.m. (tee 10): Anthony Alex, Wayne, N.J.; Connor Flach, Ellicott City, Md.; Joseph Kremer, Canada
1:50 p.m. (tee 1): Chase Johnson, Barberton, Ohio; Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan.; Nicolas Echavarria, Colombia
1:50 p.m. (tee 10): Victor Wiggins, Gastonia, N.C.; Zachary Bauchou, Forest, Va.; Sean Smothers, Tamarac, Fla.
2 p.m. (tee 1): Zecheng Dou, Peoples Rep. of China; Greg Conrad, Barrington, Ill.; Jonathan Shaw, Mill Valley, Calif.
2 p.m. (tee 10): Kevin Reilly, Oviedo, Fla.; Wonje Choi, San Diego, Calif.; Jordan Sanders, Cedar Park, Texas

PHOTO GALLERY >> US Junior Amateur Golf

Most New Hampshire Union Leader photographs are available for purchase, as are full page reproductions of the newspaper.

STRATHAM — Connor Greenleaf's Monday morning couldn't have started much better.

Greenleaf, a 16-year-old Windham resident, birdied the first two holes in the opening round of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at The Golf Club of New England in Stratham.

Greenleaf finished with a 2-over-par 74, which left him six strokes off the lead. His 74 was four shots better than the score turned in by Keene's Chelso Barrett, who is the only other New Hampshire resident in the field.

“No complaints,” Greenleaf said. “Starting off with two birdies — I guess that takes a lot of the pressure off.”

Max McGreevy, a 17-year-old from Oklahoma, City, Okla., holds the lead entering the tournament's second day. McGreevy opened the tournament with a 4-under-par 68 and has a two-stroke lead over Joshua Lee of Ocean Park, Fla., Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., Andrew Bonner of Ripon, Calif., and Nicholas Echavarria of Columbia.

McGreevy, who will be a senior at Edmond Santa Fe High School in the fall, won the Oklahoma 6A individual championship earlier this year. His round included six birdies.

“I've never played in a USGA championship, so I didn't know what to expect,” McGreevy said. “I got here late, so I only played one practice round. I knew I had to be calm and stay in the moment. Since this is my first USGA championship experience, I just want to enjoy it.”

McGreevy has committed to play college golf at the University of Oklahoma.

North Hampton resident Neil Kelly caddied for Liu, who won the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur and is the only past champion in the field.

Greenleaf, who will be a junior at Windham High School in the fall, said he's looking for improvement in today's round.

“I think we can take it even lower,” he said. “I can improve on a lot of things, and I still pulled out a 74. If I shot another 74 … I'd take the exact same round.”

Greenleaf's threesome included Beau Hossler, who tied for 29th in the U.S. Open earlier this year. Hossler finished with a 5-over-par 77.

Barrett, the runner-up in last year's U.S. Junior Amateur, was nearing the end of what he called a mediocre round when things took a turn for the worse on the par-4 7th hole (Barrett teed off on No. 10). After hitting his tee shot into the fescue near a sand trap, Barrett's second shot ended up in the woods. He ended up with a triple-bogey and finished with a 6-over-par 78.

“I had a pretty good lie so I figured I'd try to hit it onto the green,” Barrett said. “I had about 170 yards, but the fescue grabbed the hozzle of my club and I hooked it into the woods.

“I didn't hit the ball solidly, so it was tough to give myself an opportunity for birdies. I was pretty flat the whole day. You can't really dwell on it, otherwise you'll play bad again. I just have to pick it up a notch. I definitely have to play really well tomorrow to make the cut.”

The field of 156 will be reduced to the low 64 plus ties following today's second round. The tournament will shift to a match-play format Wednesday.

The Golf Channel will begin providing coverage of the event on Thursday.

rbrown@unionleader.com