Harkins, Verna lead Straight Down after first round
After the first day of play at the Straight Down Fall Classic in San Luis Obispo, PGA Tour pro Brandon Harkins and Tony Verna led the way at 8 under par, followed by Doug Bauman and Greg Bauman at -7. Four teams trailed the leaders at 6 under.
Loren Roberts and Tanner Podres were in ninth place at -4.
“The greens are phenomenal, and we’re playing stress-free,” Harkins said. “I just had my first baby and I haven’t been playing much golf recently. It has been a lot of fun to be out here, and Straight Down and Mike Rowley are doing a great job.”
Kenny Perry, a 14-time PGA Tour winner playing at the SLO Country Club for the first time, said the greens were remarkably tough.
“They told me you have to have everything below the hole but it’s tough with some smaller landing areas,” Perry said. “I think the greens here are as tough as anything on tour outside of Augusta.”
Perry’s group is in third place at 6 under with partner Kris Marshall.
Playing with Chicago Cubs second baseman Ian Happ, PGA Tour player Rod Pampling said that Happ showed raw power on the course, smashing drives and showing good competitive spirit.
“Even though he doesn’t get to play a lot of golf, he did well out there, and when he didn’t, you could tell he was frustrated,” Pampling said. “This is a frustrating sport.”
The tournament finishes up Sunday at the San Luis Obispo Country Club and is free for fans. Play begins at 7:30 a.m.
To see who’s teeing off when, visit www.straightdown.com/live-scoring-tee-times/.
For more information on the tournament, go to straightdown.com.
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 8:56 PM.
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