It’s clearly been a difficult morning at Canoe Brook, and only a few local players have a chance to move on to Pebble Beach.
Make than an outside chance.
The best four scores from this sectional qualifying site will join the U.S. Open field. Chris Damiano, who played out of Westchester Hills, opened with a 5-over par 77. He’s nine holes into the second round and is 3-under. The former Manhattanville College standout is right now tied for 16th at 2-over.
He probably needs two or three more birdies coming in.
The other locals struggled on the North Course this morning, and the swirling wind continues to blow. Here are the area results after one round:
Craig Thomas 75
David Young 75
Colin Amaral 75
Carl Alexander 76
Andrew Guiliani 76
Frank Bensel 76
Chris Damiano 77
Michael Laudien 77
Charles Meola 78
Stephen Scialo (a) 78
Heath Wassem 78
Greg Bisconti 79
Former Garrison resident Johnson Wagner is qualifying in Memphis and was tied for 44th at 1-under following the first round there. They are taking a dozen players from that site.
Update 7:43 p.m.: None of the locals got any of the four spots available here. Damiano was close for a while, the Scarsdale native who is now in Florida got to 5-under in the afternoon round with an eagle at the 12th at Canoe Brook. The run ended there. He lipped out a birdie on 13 and suffered a bogey on 14 to fall back. Damiano finished in a tie for 10th.
Here’s the final tally for the locals:
t10. Chris Damiano 77-68-145
t15. Carl Alexander 76-72-148
t19. Craig Thomas 75-74-149
t30. David Young 75-77-152
t30. Charles Meola 78-74-152
t34. Stephen Scialo (a) 78-75-153
t39. Michael Laudien 77-77-154
t39. Frank Bensel 76-78-154
t44. Colin Amaral 75-80-155
t44. Heath Wassem 78-77-155
t49. Greg Bisconti 79-79-158
t52. Andrew Guiliani 76-83-159
(Photo: Stephen Scialo gets out of trouble on the 18th hole at Canoe Brook).
