Revak 18 holes away from defending 84 Lumber Fayette County Open title
FARMINGTON – A shared feeling between the two golfers atop the leaderboard of the 84 Lumber Fayette County Open was that the roughs on The Links course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa held up to their name. But for leader Mike Revak and second-place Jeremy Enslen, they were two different kinds of rough.
Enslen described the roughs as “U.S. Open roughs” before Revak later joked that he never actually got to hit out of the rough.
“I lost my ball in the rough on the fifth hole and never found it,” Revak said with a slight smile. “It cost me a two-stroke penalty at the time. So yeah, I’d say the roughs were a little rough.”
Fighting through any tough play the course had to offer though, Revak stayed consistent with his shots and fired a 4-over-par 74, opening up a two-shot lead over Enslen, who shot a 76.
The final round of the tournament begins at 9 a.m. today at The Links course.
With both the front and back nines set at a par-35, Revak went out with a 2-over 37 and posted the same score on the back. Enslen set the same mark on the back nine with a 37 of his own, but was 4-over on the front.
“I hit my irons really well today,” Enslen said of his play afterward after his round, “but I wasn’t putting all that well.”
For Enslen, however, the course was a little new to him.
“I haven’t played here too many times and the last time I did was about three years ago,” he said. “So today was a little hard, but tomorrow I’ll feel a little better out there.”
Chris Taylor fought off some tough play early on and used the same score as Revak to move into a tie at third place with former champion Pat Calvaresi.
Calvaresi shot what he called his best golf through the first 11 holes of the course yesterday, but suffered a bad one on the 12th hole when he took a chance at an approach shot that didn’t work to his favor.
According to Calvaresi, he noticed the group in front of him make it to the green in two shots for a birdie attempt.
“I was down and was striking the ball well all day long. I felt like I had complete control over all my shots so I went for it,” Calvaresi said. “At that point I was three back and where I wanted to be.
“It’s a shot I probably don’t try if I’m in the lead or a little bit closer.”
George Knapp, Brandon Katzeff and Bernie Wydo closed out the rest of the top five all tied with a three-round total of 230.
Revak and Enslen, however, have separated themselves just a little bit from the rest of the pack. Taylor and Calvaresi sit in close distance at six shots back, but it will be tough.
“Six shots is a good bit,” Calvaresi said. “Am I capable of doing it? Yeah, I can. But it’s going to take some really good golf and some breaks going my way.”
Until someone from behind makes a move, it will be Revak’s to lose with Enslen making a push to win the tournament in his first appearance. The two tee off with Taylor at 10:39 a.m.
“It’s going to be fun,” Revak said. “Jeremy is a really good golfer and it’s going to be a good group to be a part of. I just got to keep playing my game and making the shots.”