McALLEN — The wind unleashed itself as if another Pooh-like blustery day, and the sun ferociously beat down on a pristine golf course already set up to make for a difficult round. Still, Christopher Robin — known better on this day as Luke Antonelli — found the right answers.
Antonelli was the only golfer to break par and finished with a 2-under 70 after the first round of the 19th Frost Bank McAllen Amateur Golf Championship on Saturday at Palm View Golf Course. The San Antonio native, and defending champion, holds a comfortable six-stroke lead over Hector Martinez (76) and seven-stroke advantage over Arnoldo Curiel and Bryan Kennedy going into today’s final round.
Four other golfers sit at 78 and four more at 79 in the championship flight of the tournament. The two-day even concludes today, and the championship round will begin teeing off at 9 a.m.
Gusting winds, temperatures in the high 90s and pin placements that made every inch count were all part of the difficult package offered at Palm View for the annual event. While most golfers succumbed to the challenges of the day, Antonelli seemed methodical — smooth and steady — in his play, avoiding hazards and generally leaving himself good lies throughout the round.
Antonelli ended his round on a high note with birdies on Nos. 7 and 8. His approach on the 160-yard par-3 No. 8 hit directly above the pin and stuck, back spinning a few inches closer and leaving him an 8-foot putt that he drained for his third birdie on the front nine — he started his round on the back nine — and fourth birdie of his round. He also had two bogeys.
“I hit the ball well, putted well and sometimes just everything goes your way,” he said. “I hit that tee shot exactly how I pictured it on the right side of the hole and got lucky, the ball somehow stopped. Maybe it caught a soft spot. I don’t understand how, but it was one of my best shots of the day.”
He found himself with an eagle opportunity on the 577-yard par-5, No. 7.
“I hit two beautiful shots, again just like I pictured them,” he said. “I left myself with a good look at eagle but missed it. But I still got the birdie. At the time you’re just playing. You don’t know what anyone else is shooting and you’re just going as low as you can.”
Five other previous champions also competed in the 28-player championship field: Genaro Davila (78), Miguel Del Angel Jr. (79), Ross Ledesma (79), Ernie Garza (81) and Ron Kilby (83).
“I guess we’re just playing for second now,” said Del Angel, a four-time winner of the event coming off back surgery in February, having had limited playing time but finishing with a 2-under in the final five holes. “The wind was tough and pin placements tough, but I hit it good. I felt a few little butterflies at times. I didn’t manage my game very well and hit some wrong shots at the wrong time and it cost me and snowballed from there.”
Del Angel is the only four-time winner of the event, doing so in 2008, ’10, ’13 and ’16. Kilby has won it three times, Davila twice and both Garza and Ledesma one time apiece.
No golfer has won back-to-back titles. With a six-stroke lead, Antonelli is in the running to change that. Still, there’s no guarantee.
“You have to take advantage of being downwind,” he said. “I don’t really know (if I have a plan for Sunday), but I’m going to go out there and do what is always said — hit one shot at a time. It’s the easiest thing to say and hardest to do.”
