Cleveland Stars holding their own at Nationwide’s Reese’s Classic
Fitzgerald fires opening round of 69, Gallo sits 2 back
Hershey, PA-Jesse Fitzgerald knows how to make a grand entrance. Making his debut on the Nationwide Tour, the young Cleveland star fired a solid round of 2-under par 69 yesterday and sits in a tie for 9th place following the first round of the Reese’s Classic. Fellow Cleveland star Kyle Gallo, Fitzgerald’s playing companion for the day, also got off to an acceptable start with a very steady round of even par 71. Starting on the back nine, both player’s rounds could not have been more different. Fitzgerald got off to a quick start with an opening birdie, added another on 14, then bogied 15 to head to the front side in 1-under par 34. He then grabbed a share of the early lead with back to back birdies on two and three before giving both strokes right back with bogies at four and five. A closing birdie on the par 4, 9th hole ended his round in style, though, as he was one of just 14 players out of 156 to break 70 in round one on the demanding Hershey Golf Club. Gallo, meanwhile, calmly reeled off seven consecutive pars to begin the day and offset two bogies with birdies at the 6th and 18th holes. Entering tomorrow’s second round, Gallo is tied for 25th place with a host of players, including Massachusetts product Brad Adamonis. At 7,154 yards, Hershey Golf Club is widely regarded as one of the most difficult stops on the Nationwide Tour. In 2003, it played as the fourth most difficult course, playing to an average of 1.23 shots over par. After day two, the 156 player field will be trimmed to the low 70 and ties. Over the weekend, at stake will be a purse of $450,000 and a winner’s check of $81,000. |
