McCarthy Takes Early Lead at Porter Cup

The 54th playing of the Porter Cup kicked off today at Niagara Falls Country Club.  This year's field featured some of the top amateurs in the world including defending Patrick Rodgers of Stanford.

On a hot and muggy day, there were 37 players under par.  Denny McCarthy (Univ. of Virginia) posted the best score of the day of 64 (-6).  After a bogey at the opening hole, his scorecard was clean with seven birdies.  Mike McCoy, playing in his 13th Porter Cup from WesDesmoines, Iowa shot an opening round 66 (-4).  Rodgers started off his title defense with a three under par 67.

There are five local players competing in this year's Porter Cup.  Chris Covelli, from Buffalo opened with a 74.  Covelli, coming off his T6 finish at the Erie County Open, is playing in his third Porter Cup.  Mike Boss, son of Niagara Falls CC head golf professional John Boss fired a 73 to start his second Porter Cup.  Matt Stasiak, recently graduated from Miami (Oh.) opened with the same score as Covelli, 74.  There are also two locals making their Porter Cup debuts.  Brian Jurkiewicz of Hamburg, NY qualified for this tournament a few weeks ago by shooting an even par 70 and winning a five man playoff.  He opened with a 75 today.  After struggling to a 40 on the front side, he came back with three birdies on holes 11, 13, and 15 before bogeying his final three.  James Blackwell of North Tonawanda, recent International Junior Matsers medalist and runner up also shot 75.  He too opened with a 40 on the front before making two birdies on the back along with a double bogey to shoot a 75.

A complete leaderboard and list of second round tee times can be found on www.portercup.com.  Check back tomorrow for more updates and a second round recap as Downtown Sports will be in Niagara Falls all day to cover the tournament.  You can follow @J_Snyder613 on twitter as I will be live tweeting scores and updates all round.