Morreale advances to Day 3
By MAUREEN LYNCH -- Shaw Suburban Media
BARRINGTON – The final chip was so pretty and went into the cup so improbably that it negated any disappointing shots Andrew Morreale had Wednesday during the second round of the Illinois State Junior Amateur at Makray Memorial Golf Club.
Morreale’s chip from the rough about 20 feet away from the cup on No. 18 took a sharp bounce when it landed on the green and rolled right into the cup to save par and finish with a 3-over-par 75.
Morreale shot 81 during Tuesday’s first round, so Wednesday’s 75 eked the senior into today’s championship round with a composite of 156.
Morreale will tee off at 8:27 a.m. today in the final round.
“That last shot made the whole round better,” Morreale said. “That third shot was a tough lie [on the edge of the green]. I was unhappy with that and then I overshot the [fourth]. So to chip it in was great.
“Things started to get better as the round went on. I made a 20-foot birdie putt on 16 (a par-3) and it was a deep, downhill putt, so I was happy it went in.”
The humidity helped the greens play extremely fast downhill, Morreale said, but slow uphill.
It was a round filled with constant guess work.
“It’s a nice course,” Morreale said, “but the greens say it all.”
Morreale did not make the cut in the tournament last year, which is run through the Illinois Junior Golf Association. So to make the cut this year was exciting.
“I was glad to come back tomorrow and play better,” Morreale said. “I just didn’t play well last year at all.
“There were a couple holes early [on Tuesday] that I bogeyed, but I decided not to think about that and just play. Then today I went on a little par streak, which was nice.”
Morreale picked up five bogeys and one birdie – on No. 16 – during Wednesday’s round.
Trace Royer and Timmy Johnson, both of DeKalb, did not make the cut Wednesday. The field was reduced to the top 62 players with the last player shooting a 157 composite. Royer was 17-over par through Wednesday while Johnson was 19-over.
