June 24, 2009 – Truman junior men’s golfer Chris Kovach shot a one-over-par 72 on Tuesday to put himself just six shots behind the leader and in a tie for 20th place through day one of the 2009 Missouri Amateur Championship at the St. Joseph Country Club in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Kovach (St. Louis, Mo.; Oakville HS), along with fellow junior Andy Herington (Milan, Mo.; Milan HS), find themselves in the tournament’s top-half after the first 18 holes of stroke play competition, as Herington posted a first-round 74 (+3; t-41) in blistering conditions on the tournament’s first day.
Vincent Kurth (Grain Valley, Mo.; Blue Springs HS), the third Truman golfer who qualified for the event, shot a six-over-par 77 and found himself tied for 82nd after 18 holes.
The 158-player event will have one more day of stroke play competition on Wednesday, before the field gets cut to 64 for a match-play tournament starting on Thursday morning.
All three players teed off in the morning session on Tuesday, so they will go off in the afternoon on Wednesday. Herington is scheduled to tee it up at 12:51, while Kovach (1:18) and Kurth (1:54) will look to secure their spots in the match-play event later in the day.