Surprise, surprise
Bonchosky shoots 4-under par to lead Fayette County Open
It had been some time since Chris Bonchosky played in the C. Harper Chevrolet Fayette County Open, but the former Laurel Highlands golfer and current Connellsville resident played like he was at his home course in shooting a 4-under 68 on Friday at Duck Hollow Golf Club in the opening round of the 36th annual tournament.
Bonchosky had eight birdies that helped him to a three-shot lead over Dan Glover and Logan Voytish, who both shot a 1-under 71.
Two-time defending champion Jeremy Enslen, who is seeking his eighth Fayette County Open championship, carded a 72. John Lenkey and Jake Barnhart each shot even-par.
Matt Karpeal was seventh after firing a 74. Matt Hanson, Bro Tajc and Luke Mosco each carded a 76 to round out the top 10.
The second round begins Saturday at Pleasant Valley Golf Club. The third round is Sunday at Uniontown Country Club. Both rounds begin at 8 a.m. The tee times for round two are the same as the first round, while a shotgun start is set for Sunday.
Bonchosky was part of the 16th foursome to tee off, and was glad to come in under the radar. He is seeking his first Fayette County Open title.
“I played in this tournament when I was in high school, so it’s been about 20 years,” Bonchosky said. “I took a page out of my old high school golf coach’s book, Don Crawford, who said, ‘just play the course.’
“I knew there were going to be some semi-tough pins and things like that, so go for the fat part of the green, two putt and get on. I got lucky and drained some 30 footers for birdie, and I chipped in on three for a birdie. I made some dumb mistakes, just tried to stay positive and minimize the mistakes.”
Glover was pulling double duty in not only playing but running the tournament with Justin Goletz and Greg Moore.
“We tried to bring a little more interest with putting flights in and growing the field,” Glover said. “We have a lot of players out there. The tournament is open to anyone, but we encourage some of the more avid golfers to play.
“Today’s round was probably one of the better rounds I’ve shot in quite a while. I hit the ball really well off the tee, hit a lot of greens and my speed control on my putting was really good.”
Enslen hasn’t played as much as he would like to this summer due to fatherly duties that include taking his children to travel baseball games, but he was able to take advantage of his opportunities to shoot even-par in his first individual tournament this year.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today, but I still shot even-par,” Enslen said. “I was 2-over after seven, so I shot 2-under the rest of the way. I feel like I am in a pretty good spot.
“If I shot anything over 75, I would have been disappointed, but there is a lot of golf left to play. You can’t win it on the first day, but you can shoot yourself out of it.”
Enslen hasn’t played at Duck Hollow as much in recent years, but he was still familiar with the course.
“I used to be a member probably 5-10 years ago, but I play it once a year now in this tournament,” Enslen said. “As hard as the ground is, you got some unfair lies, but it is the same for everybody. It is what it is.
“You judge the lie, and sometimes you have to go left of the pin, or play short, so you don’t hit it out of bounds, or in a hazard.”
Lenkey thought he had gotten the better of one of his playing partners, as he was 4-under after 13 holes, but he had to battle through the last five holes. Despite having a tough finish, Lenkey was able to tie Barnhart and Enslen.
Lenkey is a previous winner of the Fayette County Open.
“I hit a couple of bad shots and had a couple of bad breaks that led me to an even-par round,” Lenkey said. “I have won this tournament once, but I have a bunch of seconds, and most of them are to Jeremy (Enslen). You can really draw some bad lies out there. I wouldn’t say I’m happy, but I’m not upset either.”
Laurel Highlands’ Sevi Vecchiolla shot 86 to lead the Junior Open field. Albert Gallatin’s Tyler Felio was two strokes back, and Connellsville’s Hunter Konieczny carded a 92. Uniontown’s Elim Martin posted a 94.
The top score among the quartet at the end of the three-day tournament will receive a $200 scholarship.
Vecchiolla recently wrapped up his legion baseball season, and admitted to not playing his best, but was content with his round.
“After the baseball season ended, I started to get back into it,” Vecchiolla said. “I think I did all right. The putter just wasn’t working for me. I am excited for the golf season. I think our team has a good shot to win the section this year.”
Konieczny finished legion baseball several days ago, as Connellsville was competing in the state tournament at McDowell High School in Millcreek Township, which is a suburb of Erie. The team concluded its season on Monday.
Moore and Goletz also played, and the duo were within one shot of each other with Moore shooting a 79 to finish in a four-way tie for 19th and Goletz sitting in a three-way tie for 23rd after carding an 80.