McKinney Still Leads Halfway Through Indiana Am
ELKHART – After 36 holes, Keegan McKinney, Avon, is the only player under par at the 116th Indiana Amateur Championship. McKinney paired yesterday’s 69 with a 73 today at Elcona CC, for a two-day total of 2-under-par, 142. He leads by two-shots over Keegan Bronnenberg of Muncie.
“Today was honestly a struggle for the most part,” McKinney said. “I got into tree trouble off the tee for the majority of the day, but I played conservative and managed to get myself back into position.”
McKinney, now a senior at Ball State University, suffered a hip injury during his sophomore year of college and is starting to feel back on track.
“I finally feel like my game is back to where it was before I had surgery,” McKinney said. “Coming back from an injury has been a struggle, but I do believe I can win if I play how I am capable.”
18 year-old Keegan Bronnenberg of Muncie currently trails by two after posting back-to-back rounds of even-par, 72.
“I struggled off the tee a little bit today, but my putter was working,” Bronnenberg said.
The soon-to-be freshman at IPFW says he’s excited about his current position, but did not expect it.
“I didn’t think I would be as high up on the leaderboard as I am,” Bronnenberg said. “This is probably one of the more loaded fields I have been a part of and I’m looking forward to playing with the top players the next couple of days.”
Matt Christensen, Elcona member, is currently third after posting a two-day total of 2-over-par, 146. He trails by four.
After Tuesday’s round, the field was cut to the low 60 players, including ties at 14-over, par 158.
Locally, six players have competed in the tournament, and three all narrowly made the cut. Round three continues Wednesday.
Warsaw High School graduate Tyler Ostrom, the 2011 IHSAA state champion, shot a 79 in his second round to go with his 79 in the first round to finish at 158, making the cut on the line. Also hitting the line is Wakarusa’s Austin Bender (81-77-158) and Goshen’s Dan Hood (78-80-158).
Missing the cut was Warsaw’s Rich Haddad, shooting a 78 in round two but carding an 81 in round one to finish at 159. Will Petro of Warsaw also ended at 159, going 78-81. Wakarusa’s Alec Dutkowski shot a 77 in round two, but took an 83 in round one, finishing at 160.