Sunday, August 5, 2997
Le Moyne grad cruises into semis
McCarthy cards six birdies and an eagle to advance in the SDGA
District Am.
By Chris Wagner Staff writer
Shooting 1-under par is usually good enough to win most area
amateur golf matches.
But when five-time SDGA District Amateur champion Mike Naton shook
hands with Dan McCarthy on Saturday, it was to offer
congratulations, not receive them.
McCarthy went on a birdie bender at Beaver Meadows to oust Naton
from the district's final major of the season, the District
Amateur. The 2005 Post-Standard Amateur champion torched the
beautifully conditioned tract for six birdies and an eagle, closing
out Naton after only 14 holes.
"My swing is really dialed in right now," said McCarthy, who advanced to this morning's semifinal against Bill Moore with three straight routs. He trounced George Betts in Friday's first round 5-and-4, Bill Edwards in Saturday morning's second round 6-and-5 and Naton in the afternoon 5-and-4.
Now, the only people who stand between him and his second SDGA major title are Moore and the winner of the Joe Babcock-John Hesler match.
"I'd definitely like to win one more district title before I turn pro," said McCarthy, who graduated as Le Moyne College's most successful golfer in the spring and plans on becoming a professional golfer in the fall.
Judging from his game Saturday, he should be ready to give it a shot. His solid swing, precise putting and mature course management helped him hold off Naton the career leader in SDGA majors with 12.
McCarthy took command on the first hole with an approach shot to within a foot of the hole for a tap-in birdie. After five holes he was up by two, then he pulled away by making a slippery 15-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and another slider for birdie on the par-4 ninth hole. Both times, Naton was looking at birdie putts inside of McCarthy's ball.
"He's simply better than me today," said the 46-year-old Naton as he walked to the 12th tee. Two holes later, the match was over.
After this tournament, McCarthy will test the waters in two Monday qualifiers for Nationwide Tour events. He'll play this Monday near Scranton, Pa., and next week in Rochester. He's also considering playing in the Monday qualifier for the inaugural Turning Stone Resort Championship, a PGA Tour event, before moving to South Florida to try to make his game tour worthy.
"If I don't attempt Q-school (the PGA Tour's national qualifying tournament) this fall, I'll do it next year," McCarthy said. "If I wait till next year, I'll play mini-tour events and maybe some tournaments on the Hooters Tour."
But first, he wants to nail down a final amateur title.
He will be in good company today as the other three golfers who advanced to the final four are all playing well.
Moore,holder of two Gerry Ashe Memorial titles, will face McCarthy this morning after knocking off James Powers 4-and-3 and Nick Velasco 5-and-3 in Saturday's matches.
Babcock,the tournament's qualifying medalist with a 67, jumped out to a 5-up lead on the front nine against Dr. Bruce Levinson before closing the third-round match 4-and-2. Like McCarthy, he comes into the event having recently won his club championship Babcock at Oswego Country Club and McCarthy at Bellevue.
Hesler,who is playing on his home course, has had to overcome more than golfing opponents to advance. Friday, he beat Joe Oddo while gingerly gripping the club with a severely swollen right hand, the result of a bee sting. Saturday, he ground out a 1-up win over John Zamperetti in the morning and a 2-and-1 victory over Joey Tesori in the afternoon.
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