As 56-year-old Jack Hall made one of his eight birdies at Wilmington Island Club on Saturday in the second round of the Oglethorpe Invitational, a spectator asked, “Was that the old guy?”
Don’t look now but the “old guy” from Sea Island is on the verge of having his name etched on the championship trophy for a third time after a 4-under-par 67 put him in a tie atop the leaderboard with 18-year-old Robert Geibel from Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Hall and Geibel are one stroke clear of 20-year-old MJ Maguire, a University of North Florida golfer who carded a 3-under 68 in the second round to get to 8 under for the tournament.
There were 14 more rounds in the 60s on Saturday and the two-round cut settled at 3-over 145. There are 40 players at even par or better, and the top 30 finishers are exempt into the 2014 field.
Hall won the Oglethorpe Invitational in 2005 and ’10, but he feels like he let one get away last year when he made a double bogey late in the final round and finished as runner-up. On Saturday, he made double bogeys on Nos. 5 and 15 but countered with eight birdies, including a tap-in from 6 inches on the 18th hole.
“I hit greens wherever I go, and you can see the greens on this course so well that you can aim for quadrants on the green and give yourself makeable putts,” said Hall, who played in the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month and won the Georgia Four-Ball Championship earlier this year with Savannah’s Danny Nelson.
“Distance control is advantageous for me here, and I guess that comes from familiarity. Last year, I tried to beat my opponent and I feel like I gave that tournament away with some bad mental golf.
“My ego golf is over, and now I’m just worried about making the lowest scores I can make,” Hall added.
Hall is three years older than Geibel’s father, and the tournament co-leader just celebrated his 18th birthday on July 21. After Hall birdied the 18th hole playing in the group in front of Geibel, the University of Louisville incoming freshman dropped his approach shot to within 10 feet and made a birdie of his own on the final hole to pull even.
“(The birdie on No. 18) was pretty important to separate myself, and knowing I’m in contention (today) really helps a lot,” said Geibel, who qualified last week for August’s U.S. Amateur Championship. “I know if I can keep it straight again, I may be able to go after some of the pins. But I also know the pins will tucked, so the game plan will be to play smart.”
The long-hitting Maguire is only a stroke back, and Georgia Southern golfer Will Evans, who finished third in the Oglethorpe last year, is two strokes back at 7 under after a 2-under 69 in the second round.
Savannah’s Doug Hanzel, a four-time Oglethorpe champion, climbed into contention with a 3-under 68 that propelled him to 4 under and a tie for seventh.
Facing a leaderboard populated by players in their teens and early 20s, Hall relishes the opportunity to outplay the young guns and will employ the same “boring golf” strategy that has made him one of Georgia’s top amateur golfers for decades. He has countless victories during his career and has enough wins after his 50th birthday that he struggled to recount them all.
“I want it just as bad as the young players do, so the desire level is the same,” Hall said. “We want to win, because if you finish second, you’re the first loser. Only one guy is going to be happy after (today’s) round and that’s the one who wins.”
Notes
The first two rounds featured two aces on Wilmington Island Club’s sixth hole. On Friday, Savannah’s Walter Hagen Jr., holed out during his first round en route to a 2-over 73, and during Saturday’s second round, Jacksonville’s Jarred Garcia holed out during his round of 72.
LOCAL GOLF
Oglethorpe Invitational
at Wilmington Island Club
Saturday’s second-round scores
T1. Robert Geibel|65-68—133
Jack Hall|66-67—133
3. MJ Maguire|66-68—134
4. Will Evans|66-69—135
T5. Maverick Antcliff|68-68—136
Collin Engelhardt|65-71—136
T7. Drew Aimone|71-67—138
Zachary Edmondson|69-69—138
Doug Hanzel|70-68—138
Robby Prater|69-69—138
T11. Bryce Chalkley|67-72—139
Connor Davis|69-70—139
Ryan Eibner|69-70—139
Jarred Garcia|67-72—139
Davis Parker|69-70—139
Jamey Salmon|69-70—139
Cody Shafer|69-70—139
Bill Sharpe|68-71—139
Rusty Strawn|68-71—139
Shad Tuten|71-68—139
Brent McKenzie|69-70—139
Matt Mell|68-71—139
T23. Kyle Blackston|71-69—140
Nate Gahman|69-71—140
Forest Gamble|70-70—140
Jackson Moore|70-70—140
Spencer Schindler|69-71—140
Jon Weiss|69-71—140
T29. Michael Culin|71-70—141
Michael Hines|74-67—141
Chipper Hughes|72-69—141
Robert Mize|72-69—141
Meechai Padungsiriseth|71-70—141
Chris Sells|70-71—141
Tyler Williams|71-70—141
T36. Jason Coolik|70-72—142
Clement Kurniawan|69-73—142
Jacob Tilton|67-75—142
Travis Williamson|72-70—142
Scott Wolfes|72-70—142
T41. Harley Abrams|72-71—143
Will Cannon|70-73—143
Spencer Ciesla|70-73—143
Cates Culpepper|72-71—143
Jacob Davidson|71-72—143
Elki Kow|71-72—143
Osten Waite|72-71—143
Billy Mitchell|69-74—143
Roman Cenizal|73-70—143
T50. Charles Flowers|70-74—144
Hayden Garrett|71-73—144
Patrick Grahek|72-72—144
Carson Jacobs|73-71—144
Parker Jones|71-73—144
Joe Lewis|72-72—144
Colin Monagle|76-68—144
Will Murphy|70-74—144
Jay Pinkos|74-70—144
Taylor Welborn|75-69—144
T60. Stone Cowie|73-72—145
Chris Ingham|76-69—145
John Jonas|69-76—145
Tee Opperman|73-72—145
Cyrus Stewart|76-69—145
T65. Colt Crymes|78-68—146
Brian Fitch|70-76—146
Christian Humber|74-72—146
Henry Mabbett|72-74—146
Parker Mills|70-76—146
Austin Powell|70-76—146
Grant Waggoner|74-72—146
Michael Rafalowicz|78-68—146
Brady Hollenbacher|74-72—146
T74. Justin Cho|73-74—147
Miles Curley|74-73—147
Howard Hickey|74-73—147
Bodi Karsono|71-76—147
Choo Teck Ng|77-70—147
Chase Parker|73-74—147
John Varol|73-74—147
Andrew Ward|68-79—147
T82. Michael Assey|74-74—148
Tripp Coggins|74-74—148
Devin Hernandez|75-73—148
Danny Nelson|77-71—148
Blake Soni|74-74—148
Dillon Board|73-75—148
T88. Jackson Heazal|74-75—149
Ryan Henry|74-75—149
Chris Jodis|73-76—149
Jacob Kreuz|77-72—149
Caleb Morris|72-77—149
Austin Padova|73-76—149
Wayne Stone|76-73—149
T95. Walter Hagen|73-77—150
Tripp Kuhlke|75-75—150
Matthew Mierzejewski|75-75—150
T98. Matthew Luckett|74-77—151
Charlie Smiley|77-74—151
Zachary Toste|75-76—151
Evan Usry|77-74—151
T102. Bryan Fox|75-77—152
Philip Kennedy|78-74—152
Jason Mendel|77-75—152
T105. Caulder Moore|77-76—153
Clark Palmer|72-81—153
Jared Purvis|80-73—153
Scott Weeks|75-78—153
Gregory Edwards|77-76—153
T110. Wheaton Hall|79-75—154
Billy Shuman|75-79—154
112. Mark Cusic|75-80—155
113. Ben Montgomery|75-81—156
114. Paul Henderson|80-77—157
T115. Jim Henderson|77-81—158
Jacob Hitt|81-77—158
117. Trey Patterson|83-76—159
118. Scott Randolph|81-79—160
119. Charlie Martin|80-81—161
120. Davy Clay|85-78—163
121. Nambsub Padungsiriseth|86-80—166
122. Connor Armstrong|95-83—178
123. David Kennedy|71-WD—WD