89th Georgia Amateur Championship
The Landings Club, Savannah (Deer Creek Course)
July 8-11, 2010

Day One Results

Jack Hall Holds First-Round Lead at Georgia Amateur Championship
Sea Island resident shoots 3-under 69 at The Landings Club

Scoring/Pairings Menu (includes player scorecards)

Day One Photo Gallery

SAVANNAH, Ga. – With a score of 3-under-par 69, Jack Hall of Sea Island holds a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the 89th annual Georgia Amateur Championship, taking place at The Landings Club, Deer Creek course, July 8-11. Mid-amateur John Belicka of Woodstock, Vanderbilt signee Jordan Janico of Duluth and current Georgia State golfer Alan Fowler of Gainesville all turned in scores of 2-under 70 to trail Hall by one.

Seven players are tied for fifth at 71, including 2003 Georgia Amateur Champion David Noll Jr. of Dalton, local Danny Nelson, Ryan Blackburn of Macon, Patrick Garrett of Powder Springs, Chesley Gunn of Chula, Cameron Simmons of Acworth and Wes Spannuth of Brunswick.  Another nine players are tied for 12th at even-par 72, with a total of just 20 players shooting par or better on the 7,094-yard track during the opening round.

Hall recorded six birdies and three bogeys on the day.  Starting on No. 10, he made the turn at 3-under with birdies on holes 10, 13, 14 and 17, with a bogey on 16.  On his inward (front) nine, Hall posted two more birdies to go with two bogeys, with both bogeys coming on the par-3s (holes 2 and 8).

Hall, 53, is a two -time past Atlanta Amateur champion.  His first title came in 1978 while he was a member of the University of Georgia golf team, and his second title followed in 1983.  In more recent statewide competitions, he tied for second in the 2004 Georgia Amateur (his best finish in the state championship) and tied for eighth in 2005 at The Savannah Golf Club.  He also won the 2005 Georgia Four-Ball Championship with Nelson. The 2000 Savannah City Champion, Hall has also been a frequent qualifier for the U.S. Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championships.

Also in Thursday’s opening round, Andy Nelson of Smyrna hit a hole-in-one on the 188-yard 12th hole, using a 6-iron.

The Georgia Amateur Championship is conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association and brings together 156 of the state's best male amateur golfers for the prestigious state title first won by Bobby Jones in 1916.

The Championship format is 72 holes of stroke play over four days. After 36 holes of play, the field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties and anyone within 10 strokes of the leader.

An online leader board, featuring all competitors’ complete scorecards, is currently available at www.gsga.org.  During Friday’s second round, scores will be updated after nine holes and as each golfer finishes his round.  The weekend rounds will feature live, hole-by-hole scoring for several of the leading groups as well as nine-hole updates for all the other groups.

Founded in 1916, the Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) received its official charter on June 24, 1924.  Since that date, the GSGA has grown to one of the largest state amateur golf associations in the country, with over 355 member clubs and 85,000 individual members.  With a mission to promote and preserve amateur golf in the state of Georgia, GSGA offers a computerized handicapping service, course rating and measuring, and annually conducts a full schedule of statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups.  Other services include a summer-long junior sectional program, award-winning Golf Georgia magazine, membership recognition and rewards programs and a charitable foundation administering two college scholarship programs.