Defending champ Revak leads 84 Lumber Fayette County Open
The general consensus after the field completed the opening round of the 84 Lumber Fayette County Open Thursday at Uniontown Country Club was the four-round tournament wouldn’t be won on the first day, but could be lost. The 6,100-yard course was hard and challenging, although 11 golfers broke 80 to stay in touch with leader, and defending champion, Mike Revak.
Revak, one of four Fayette Open champions in the field, shot a 1-over-par 72 after going out in 36 and finishing with the same score.
“I didn’t make too many mistakes,” said Revak, whose round included five bogeys and four birdies. “I had a couple bad swings on the bogeys. If you miss on the wrong spot, it’s very difficult to get up and down.
“The course is real firm and playing real fast.”
Revak took the basic approach that steady and slow wins the race.
“I played pretty consistent. I just try to make a lot of pars. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” explained Revak.
“Seventy-two holes is a lot of holes. You just can’t shoot yourself out of contention.”
Not much was known about Jeremy Enslen, but he was the leader in the clubhouse until Revak finished with a 73. He went out in 36 and came home in 37. Dave Stewart, another unknown quantity, was two shots behind along with Pat Calvaresi, another former champion.
Calvaresi had scores of 37 on both the front and back nines.
“I got the most out of my round. Two bad swings cost me four shots,” said Calvaresi. “I managed the course pretty well. I just hung in there. It was one of those rounds I could’ve given up.”
He lauded the preparation of the course for the opening round.
“I give a lot of credit to the superintendent. They made it challenging.”
Calvaresi had two double bogeys, but responded with a birdie and an eagle on the hole after the two-shot giveaway.
“(Getting the birdie and eagle) takes a little bit of the sting out of it,” said Calvaresi.
Chris Taylor was alone fifth place with a 4-over 75 with George Knapp, Jason Kurnot and Bill McHugh all finishing at 76.
Former champion Tom Barnhart and Pete Dzambo both carded 77, but went about it in different ways. Barnhart went out in 40, but recovered with a 37 on the back while Dzambo had a 36 on the front nine with a closing 41.
Barnhart hasn’t played in the Fayette Open the past few years, working in Michigan as a golf professional. The Open champion in 1999, Barnhart is currently the director of golf operations at Yarrow Golf and Conference Center in Kalamazoo, Mich.
“I had a good ball-striking day. I haven’t played much. There was a lot of rust out there,” explained Barnhart. “It was good to back playing. It’s been four or five years since I played (in the Fayette Open).
“I left four, five, six shots out there. I missed four putts within two feet,” said Barnhart of his round of three birdies, six bogeys and one double bogey. “I played well. The short game was not there. I wasn’t hitting the approach shots close enough.
“It seemed when I’d do something right, I’d do something doubly wrong. I was 5-over on the par-3s.”
Dzambo had a strange final nine holes without a par. He had eight bogeys with an eagle.
“I played the same on the front as I did on the back, but I couldn’t get a par,” said Dzambo. “I was all around the hole. I just couldn’t get the ball to fall.”
Dzambo and the rest of the field head to Pleasant Valley Country Club today for the second round. Tee times begin a 1/2-hour later than the first round.