MONROE – James Feudi played himself into a little trouble during his first 9 holes in the La-Z-Boy Junior Open Tuesday.
“I had a little mishap on hole 9,” he said. “I hit one over the road.”
He played himself back into contention with one swing of the club.
Feudi stroked a hole-in-one on the 185-yard No. 11 hole with a 5-iron.
“I knew it right away,” Feudi said. “It was perfect. I picked the right club and played the wind perfectly. It was one hop and drop.”
He saw his ball fall into the cup.
“We heard it hit the pin and we all ran to the green and saw it in the hole,” he said. “There was a lot of excitement, but I was kind of upset because it took me 16 years to do it.”
He hasn’t been playing his entire 16 years, but pretty close.
“I was out there before I could walk, (age) one or two,” he said.
Feudi opening-day round of 75 ranks fourth in the 16-under boys division.
Ida’s Connor Zimmerman leads with 71, followed by Brayden Crow of Arizona with 72 and Airport student Brayden Siders with 73.
“I knew if I was going to have a shot going into tomorrow, I had to do something,” Feudi said. “That was a great momentum booster. I still have a good shot.”
Feudi did not play in the La-Z-Boy last summer, but placed third in each of the two previous years.
Billy Sennett Jr. shot an outstanding round of 66 Tuesday. That gave him a 5-stroke lead in the boys 19-under division over Tyler Sims of Washtenaw Community College.
Landry Wilkens of Bedford and Laim Doll of Tecumseh share the boys 14-under lead with 76 and Garrett Carter of Jefferson and Myles Dushane of Triumph Academy are tied for first in boys 12-under with 46.
Only eight players registered for the girls tournament this year.
Madilyn Peterson of Gibraltar Carlson led the way with 84 while Harlow Swank of Newport St. Charles shot 88 along with St. Mary Catholic Central teammates Nora Kinsey and Lauren Tolliver.
GOLF
Hole-in-one for Lehmann
MONROE –Joe Lehmann of Monroe, 61, shot a hole-in-one at Monroe Golf & Country Club on July 17. He used a pitching wedge on the 135-yard No. 6 hole.
Oliver aces Giant Oak
TEMPERANCE – Del Oliver used a 9-iron to shoot a hole-in-one on the 100-yard No. 15 hole at Giant Oak Golf Course on July 16.
CROSS COUNTRY
Milers taking entries
MONROE – The Monroe Milers Youth Cross Country (grades K-8) and Homeschool Athletics (9-12) registration is now open.
Races are generally on Fridays or Saturdays from the beginning of September through the end of October. Practices begin in August.
Visit monroemilersyouthcrosscountry.weebly.com for more information.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: James Feudi records ace on opening day of La-Z-Boy Junior OPen
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
