Lenkey shakes off ‘mental error’ to maintain lead in Fayette Open
CONNELLSVILLE – John Lenkey shook off a “mental error” on the back nine at Pleasant Valley Country Club Friday and finished strong to maintain his lead after two rounds of the 84 Lumber Fayette County Open. He shot a round of even-par 71 at PVCC to lead Jeremy Enslen (72) by three strokes.
The tournament moves to The Links at Nemacolin Woodlands for today’s 11:30 a.m. third-round start. The tournament leaders will get off the first tee between 1:10 and 1:30 p.m. Sunday’s final round at The Links will begin at 1 p.m.
Lenkey started with a birdie and a double bogey on the front nine, then settled down to shoot steady pars and a 36 for the front nine. He scored a double bogey on the 15th hole but finished strong with a birdie, eagle and birdie for a back nine of 35.
All of the competitors were talking about the tough pin placements, and Lenkey was no exception. “The greens were beautiful, but the pin placements were very difficult.”
He called his 15th-hole double bogey a “mental error,” but added, “I usually play terribly here. This course is my nemesis. But I got by it. There’s so much golf left. I’ll take it shot by shot. I feel good about my game right now.”
Challengers Steve Superick (75) and Mike Revak (76) agreed the pins made putting a challenge.
Revak said, “Whoever set the pins wasn’t playing golf today.”
Superick said, “Whoever set the pins got up in a bad mood today. It made you play defensive golf all day. It was brutal.”
Jeremy Enslen handled the course almost as well as Lenkey, shooting a 72 to move from fourth to second place.
“I played smart and kept below the holes,” Enslen said. His round was highlighted by birdies at the 10th and 13 holes.
It was the 10th fairway that proved to be the undoing of one participant, whose drive found its way down Route 982, and caused him to withdraw from the event.
Ryan Bashour was disappointed in his round of 78, which dropped him 10 strokes off the lead. “If I play like this tomorrow, I’m in trouble,” he said. “The course played tough, but that’s not why I shot a 78. I always set the tone on the first couple holes. Nothing was happening and I couldn’t get any momentum until I made the turn.”
Bernie Wydo was pleased with his round of 76. “I couldn’t get a feel for putting, and I overplayed the breaks. But, I’m comfortable with my round. Being under 77 or 78 is not a bad score for this course.”
Wydo said the leaders must still be careful at The Links at Nemacolin. “Anyone could shoot an 80 there. You’ve got to keep the ball in play.”
NOTES: For the second straight day, rain interrupted play, as a brief shower stopped play for about 15 minutes just after the start of the second round… The 17th hole caused problems for several golfers. Josh Miller scored a 12 on the hole, while Bill Hunt scored a nine and Scott Bush and Kevin Gaydos each scored seven… Three additional golfers will join the field today as the two-round senior tournament begins. There are 10 golfers in the four-day tournament whose Saturday and Sunday scores will count in the senior event as well… The Friday afternoon consensus seemed to indicate that the championship battle was among the golfers who scored under 150 for the first two days… Marcus Ondra scored a birdie two on the par three 12th hole… In his third Fayette Open, Jeremy Ensler is originally from Butler. His wife hails from Smithfield, and they now live in Uniontown… Seth Rockwell remained in contention, despite three-putting three greens. The former Uniontown High School golfer had one birdie, one eagle, and three bogeys.