By Staff
BENTON HARBOR – Thirty-six golfers qualified for the 2006 Western Amateur, presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf, on Monday at Lake Michigan Hills G.C. in Benton Harbor and The Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind.
The first player to make the field in a seven-man playoff for three spots at the Lake Michigan Hills qualifier was Chad Carroll, 22, of Bexley, Ohio. Carroll, a senior at Hofstra University, chipped in for a birdie on the first playoff hole.
The qualifiers were among approximately 270 golfers attempting to make the field in the championship, which begins Wednesday at Point O'Woods G. &C.C. in Benton Harbor.
The nation's top amateur golfers will be competing in the 104th Western Amateur championship, playing 18 holes each day on Wednesday and Thursday followed by a cut to the low 50 scores and ties.
The players making the cut will play 36 holes on Friday, with the low 16 qualifying for match play on Saturday.
The championship match will be held on Sunday, Aug. 6.
Defending champion Jamie Lovemark, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and 2006 NCAA champion Jonathan Moore, of Vancouver, Wash., lead an elite field of the world's top amateur golfers, including 11 of the Western Amateur "Sweet 16" match play qualifiers from 2005.