Sep 21, 2010 By Jim Downey 4 min read

Uniontown’s Ben Sampson clutched his head as his second putt on No. 18 slid past the hole, but his display of golf angst was premature because, despite a three-putt on the final hole, the Red Raider senior earned a berth into next week’s individual semifinals. Sampson joined five others, including medalist Bo Lustig from Belle Vernon, to escape Duck Hollow Golf Club Monday with a berth in hand from the Division I, Section 2 qualifier into the semifinals on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at a site to be announced Thursday.

Golfers from the seven schools could earn a berth by either (a) finishing among the top five finishers, plus ties, or (b) shoot 80 or better (10 shots from the course standard of 70). Only Lustig met the 80-or-better standard, so everyone else spent time watching the leaderboard.

Sampson went out in a respectable 3-over 38, but troubles on the back had him watching his scorecard with the feeling his final opportunity to advance was slipping through his fingers.

“I thought it was over. I had a 3-foot putt (on No. 18) that I missed,” explained Sampson. “I had a three-putt on No. 16, too.”

After chipping in for birdie on No. 8, things began to unravel with a triple bogey on No. 10.

“I knew I had five strokes to make the cut (at 80) after the turn. After the triple, I had two strokes to play around with the rest of the round,” said Sampson, who advanced into the semifinals two years ago.

Sampson’s feeling of dread was put to rest after he looked at the posted leaderboard and received a better understanding of where he stood.

“It was not until I got in here (the scoring area) and looked up, that’s when I knew I made it,” said Sampson.

No such angst for Lustig, who posted an even-par 72 for the lone sub-80 round of the sectional.

“I played real solid. I made every 5-footer (putt),” said Lustig. “I holed a 30-footer on No. 7 for birdie.”

Since three of the seven schools in the section call Duck Hollow Golf Club home, Lustig came in knowing the course.

“I’m familiar with the course. It was a solid round. This course is tricky,” said Lusting. “I wanted to shoot a good number and move on.”

The course, as with most in the region, is suffering from the dry spell, but, according to Lustig, last week’s rains took the edge off the condition of the course.

“The rain helped, but the greens are still hard. I hit a lot of greens. My 2-iron was pretty money today,” said Lustig.

Lustig will be joined by teammate Kirby Manown, who finished in a three-way tie for the final qualifying berth at 83. Manown shot 41 on the front and 42 on the back.

The way Alex Ashton described his round, qualifying would seem to be a dim hope. But, the Laurel Highlands senior finished with an 82 (39-43) to finish behind Lustig and Sampson.

“I blew up on so many holes,” said Ashton. “I had a double on No. 1 and a triple on No. 10.

“On No. 12, I counted myself out. I was already 9-over. It was another birdie-less round.”

Fortunately, he didn’t give up the final few holes and was buoyed with talk of where the cut might be as he finished out.

“Once I talked to some people, I felt I had a chance. I just played throughout,” said Ashton.

Teammate Richard David shot an 83 for the last spot into the semifinals.

“I hit one fairway,” said David. “I made a lot of par putts.

“I was just trying to shoot 80, but after No. 16 I was 9-over. I just wanted to try to get as low as I could,” said David.

After a couple years of falling one stroke shy of advancing, Mount Pleasant junior Zac Heide shot an 83 for a qualifying berth.