By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports Reporter It took one round to find his game after being a late addition to the Porter Cup, but Desmond Stoll rebounded Thursday with an even-par 70. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News) Desmond Stoll’s week got a lot busier Tuesday. The 23-year-old from Lockport got a call that he was in the field for the Porter Cup for the first time. So while it’s been a whirlwind, he settled in during the second round Thursday, shooting an even-par 70 to move 13 spots up the leader board. “It was kind of chaotic getting the call that morning and all of a sudden I’m here,” Stoll said. “It was a lot to take in, just trying to figure out the atmosphere and everything. I didn’t have a lot of time to do much prep, but I’m happy to be here.” Last year’s Buffalo District Golf Association champion, Stoll’s first round Wednesday was going along smoothly enough until the closing stretches. He made a double bogey on the par-4 15th hole, then dropped another shot on the par-3 16th. Things went from bad to worse on the tee at the par-4 17th when he made a tentative swing and hit out of bounds, eventually leading to a triple bogey. That ballooned his score to an opening-round 78. “It was just sloppy all around,” he said, “which was frustrating because I felt like I was hitting it good all day. I felt fine afterward, because I know my game is strong right now.” Stoll recently finished 11th in the Northern Amateur at Sand Creek Country Club in Indiana, finishing at even-par through 54 holes. He’s determined to chip away at the leader board in the last two rounds this week. “I’d like to get a couple back each day,” he said. “I need two, good under par rounds. That’s all I can do. When you put yourself out of position in the first round, it’s tough. You can’t win it the first day, but you can definitely lose it, so I have a lot of ground to make up.” Along the way, he’s trying to soak up as much of the Porter Cup experience as he can. He’ll compete in the New York State Amateur later this summer, but then will make a run at a professional career in the fall, moving down south to play the mini-tour circuit. He’s also considering Web.com Tour qualifying school. “I’m happy with where my game’s at,” said Stoll, who plays out of Lockport Town & Country Club, “so I’m going to take a run at it.” A pair of birdies at No. 6 and No. 8 got Stoll to 2-under Thursday, but he dropped a shot at the par-4 ninth – which played as the toughest hole on the course. He then went bunker to bunker on the par-5 11th, leading to a disappointing bogey, then played even from there coming in. “I just couldn’t really get anything going,” he said. “Yesterday, the back nine was definitely an issue. I don’t really know what happened. Sometimes when it starts spiraling out of control, you’ve just got to slow it down and tame it. Hopefully that was a fluke. Today was a lot better.” Stoll finished his collegiate career at Division III Central College in Pella, Iowa, by breaking the Dutch’s program record with a 72.9 stroke average. He also won the Iowa Conference Player of the Year. Stoll won’t be alone when he heads south. Williamsville’s Billy Gaffney, who is also in the field this week, plans to move with him and also pursue a professional career. Gaffney shot a round of 4-over 74 Thursday, with a triple bogey on the par-3 18th serving as the costliest blemish on the scorecard. They are chasing leader Gavin Hall of Pittsford, who shot a 4-under 66 Thursday to reach 9-under 131 through 36 holes. Australian Harrison Endycott is in second at 7-under 133 after a round of 6-under 64 Thursday that tied for best of the day. email: jskurski@buffnews.com

By Bob DiCesare | Buffalo News Sports Reporter At the top: Pittsford’s Gavin Hall (Texas) sits at -9 and carries a two-shot lead into Friday’s third round.  Australia’s Harrison Endycott is two shots back after his Thursday 64, which is tied for the low round of the tournament. Viraat Badhwar (Stanford) and Gaston Bertinotti (Campbell) are tied for third, five shots behind Hall. Back at it:  Play begins at 8 a.m. Friday with the lead threesome of Hall, Endycott and Badhwar scheduled to tee it up at 12:30 p.m. Closing in?: This is Hall’s fifth Porter Cup and he appears destined for his fifth straight top-10 finish. What he doesn’t have yet is a win. He finished tied for second in 2010 as a 15-year-old. Three toughest holes (through two rounds) No. 9, 477-yard par 4 – +0.4 to par No. 5, 463-yard par 4 – +0.36 to par No. 17, 460-yard par 4 – +0.36 to par Three easiest holes (through two rounds) No. 3, 552-yard par 5, -0.35 to par No. 11, 554-yard par 5, -0.33 to par No. 13, 576-yard par 5, -0.08 to par Making hay: Given the ease of the par 5s it’s the other holes that define the tournament. Hall is 6-under on the par 4s, two shots better than anyone else. He’s second in birdies with 11, one fewer than Badhwar, Endycott and Garrett Rank. Steady hand: Elma’s David Hanes has parred 28 of 36 holes. Only Trevor Sluman of Pittsford, with 29, has more. What has hurt Hanes’ most is he’s +2 on the par 5s. Five players are -5 on the par 5s. Hall is -3.

By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports Here is Viraat Badhwar’s score card from the back nine Thursday at the Porter Cup. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. Bogey. Birdie. Par. Add, it all up, and that’s 6-under 29. “I just hit a lot of quality golf shots,” Badhwar said. “I gave myself a lot of looks at birdie and some of them just happened to drop. It was a really good time.” A 20-year-old senior at Stanford playing in his first Porter Cup, Badhwar’s round of 5-under 65 moved him 18 spots up the leader board into a tie for third place at 4-under 136 through 36 holes at Niagara Falls Country Club. Things just got rolling and I made a few putts,” he said. “It takes a lot of really good golf shots to do it, and I was pretty proud of myself to be able to put myself in that position and make the putts when I needed to. Badhwar knows from experience – he has a round of 59 on his career resume, shot at the Stanford golf course. “You don’t really expect anything of the sort, you just try and play as well as you can, and if things get rolling, it can happen,” he said. Badhwar is making his first Porter Cup appearance at the urging of his Cardinal teammate, David Boote. “Monday was the first time I saw the course,” he said. “Everyone has been super nice and the golf course is in great condition, so it’s been a lot of fun.” Badhwar was born in India and lived there until he was 11, when his family moved to Australia. He’s a member of the Australian national team and came to the U.S. to attend Stanford. “It’s kind of cool to have a lot of diverse experiences that I can draw upon,” he said. “I’m looking forward to having a great senior year and enjoying it as much as I can.” Before that, he hopes to add to the Stanford legacy at the Porter Cup by slipping on the winner’s green jacket Saturday. “There’s still a long way to go, so we’ll see how it all turns out,” he said. “It’ll be fun.”

By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports There’s really only one way to bounce back from a snowman. Russell Bowie made a hole-in-one on the 18th hole Thursday during the second round of the Porter Cup. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News) Step onto the next tee and knock it in for an ace. That’s what Russell Bowie of Mississauga did Thursday during the second round of the Porter Cup. After a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 17th hole, Bowie knocked it in for a hole-in-one on the par-3 18th with a 7-iron from 162 yards. “To be honest, I wasn’t aiming at the pin,” he said. “I kind of blocked it out a bit to the right, because it was a really tucked pin today. Got a really good bounce off the hill and went in. Definitely a good way to end the round.” It was Bowie’s third career hole-in-one, but first in competition. He finished with around of 1-over 71. “I played really well, other than that horrible 8 on 17,” he said. “I don’t know if anyone has had such a big stroke swing from one hole to the next.” Bowie, 24, is playing in his second Porter Cup. He’s currently tied for 37th at 2-over 132 through two rounds.

By Bob DiCesare | Buffalo News Sports Gavin Hall ranks high on Rochester’s list of PGA Tour hopefuls. (James P. McCoy/Buffalo News). Buffalo and Rochester are separated by just some 60 Thruway miles but there’s no proximity when it comes to the state of their golf games. Western New York has been waiting … and waiting … and waiting for a talent to emerge and sustain on a pro circuit, be it the Web.Com feeder loop or the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, Rochester thrives. Two-time state amateur champion Dominic Bozzelli ranks fifth on the Web.Com money list and is assured a PGA Tour card for next season. University of Texas senior Gavin Hall on Wednesday grabbed a three-shot, first-round lead at the Porter Cup. No surprise there. He’s placed inside the tourney’s top 10 four times, including a runner-up finish in 2010 – when he was 15. University of Louisville senior and reigning state am champ Trevor Sluman, another Pittsford native, sits four shots off Hall’s lead. You might recognize the name. Trevor is the nephew of Rochester native Jeff Sluman, who won the 1988 PGA Championship and finished top five in two other majors. And yet, in assessing the Rochester scene, Orchard Park’s Jamie Miller says, “Will Thomson, he’s probably got the most potential of any of them.” Will Thomson lines up a putt on the ninth hole (James P. McCoy/Buffalo News) Thomson, winner of the 2014 International Junior Masters at East Aurora Country Club, is a high school sophomore and already verbally committed to the University of Texas. The big surprise in Wednesday’s Porter Cup was that he struggled, shooting 75. Buffalo has its hopefuls. Ben Reichert, the East Tennessee-bound Williamsville North grad, checked in with a solid 2-under 68. Billy Gaffney’s in the hunt with a 71. But there’s no pegging them as  PGA Tour players, as Bozzelli will be, Hall figures to be and Thomson projects to be. What gives? The question was put to two players from each city following their rounds on Wednesday. Here’s what they had to say: Gavin Hall: I think for the most part there’s a lot of great golf courses there. Dominic Bozzelli doesn’t live there anymore, but when we grew up there was a lot of competition and it was mostly a lot of us. Great coaches there, good golf courses, and I feel like there’s always that pedestal – every eight years or 10 years we see a major championship at courses that we usually play. So (we) have that kind of be our goal. When I was younger I remember going to the 2003 PGA Championship. It’s things like that, they’re in my head, that I keep working for. That’s where I want to be. We’re lucky to have a major championship golf course in our backyard in Oak Hill, and plenty of other ones that host great championships too. “I think being surrounded by that much golf, that many golf courses with members and high-level tournaments that they host, it’s a great combination for us to play well. Multiple-time Porter Cup player Nick Morreale of Tonawanda: “I don’t even think I could offer an opinion. I think it’s luck. I mean, they got really good golf courses out there, like world-class golf courses. I don’t think we have anything in Western New York that compares to Oak Hill and a couple other ones out there. But I really don’t know.” I think they just grow up around amazing golfers, but I guess we do in Western New York too though. We see these guys come through here (at the Porter Cup). I really can’t offer an opinion as to why they’ve been more successful recently, even going back to Jeff Sluman. I don’t know to be honest. Trevor Sluman: I think it’s how great the golf courses are. I mean, I grew up on Oak Hill, and there’s Irondequoit, CCR, Monroe, Locust Hill. I feel like good golf courses breed good players and we have such good junior programs, too. RDGA is such a great association, holding so many events for everybody. It helps. “The RDGA really has a huge effect on us as kids. They do a lot of things for the juniors coming up. I just played in the RDGA a couple weeks ago, played with a kid who’s 14, and you can just tell he’s going to be a good player. You play in these one-day events, all these junior series, and you get better. I feel like that’s a big reason for a lot of the guys in Rochester. Will Thomson lines up a putt on the ninth hole (James P. McCoy/Buffalo News) Jamie Miller, 2014 NYS Mid-Amateur champion: As a whole they have better golf courses, not just one challenging them all the time. They have Oak Hill, Monroe, CCR, Brooklea, really good golf courses, which when you grow up on them it makes it seem easier when you go to a tournament like here. “Part of it, maybe the history of golf in Rochester. You grow up with the PGA and all that, and the U.S. Open there, and the Ryder Cup, and everybody knows it. “They are more golf knowledgeable there than we are here. Not a lot, but they are. I think that helps. I think the history, all of that. In Buffalo, hockey’s huge. The Bills are huge. In Rochester maybe it’s a little different where they’re still big, really big, but it’s not the main focus where here that’s our main focus. Courses? Culture? There can be no definitive answer. But when it comes to golf Buffalo is two club lengths behind. email: bdicesare@buffnews.com

By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports On Wednesday, it was the front nine. On Thursday, Gavin Hall feasted on the back nine at Niagara Falls Country Club. Gavin Hall tees off on the 16th hole during the second round of the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News) A 4-under 31 on the inward nine during the second round gave Hall a round of 66, getting him to 9-under 131 through 36 holes. That’s good for a two-shot lead over Australian Harrison Endycott. “It was a really good score on the back nine,” Hall said. “I had a few bad holes on the front. I made a double bogey. That’s kind of the way I’ve been able to handle myself this year – If I’m making a bad number, I usually can kind bounce back pretty well. “I’m excited about the weekend and going into these next two rounds.” Hall’s double came on the par-5 third hole, which must have felt like a triple on one of the easiest holes on the course. When he bogeyed the par-3 fourth hole, it started to look like his round could go south quickly. But a holed sand shot for birdie on the par-5 fourth hole stopped the bleeding. “That’s just what I needed,” Hall said. Another birdie on the par-4 eighth hole got Hall back to even on his round, then he set out on attacking the back nine. After a birdie on the par-5 11th, Hall followed that up eagle on the par-5 13th, hitting a 5-iron to 5 feet for a birdie. “I’m just trying to play the golf course,” he said. “It’s in such great shape, so I’m just trying to play my type of game, seeing how many birdies I can make out there. Today is perfect scoring conditions. Greens are soft, they’re in awesome shape, not as much wind and it’s hot, so it’s premium for scoring low.” Making his fifth appearance in this tournament, Hall said it feels “kind of like home.” ‘This is one of my favorite golf tournaments of the year,” he said. “It’s so close to me, I get a lot of support. … Just the community of Lewiston – it’s been awesome. I really look forward to this week. The next two days are going to be fun.” Coming into the week, Hall said he expected the winning score to be between 14- and 16-under. He’s got that well within reach. “If I get to those numbers, I’ll have a pretty good chance at it,” he said, “but at the same time, I don’t want to hold back, I want to keep playing aggressive and keep firing at pins.”

By Bob DiCesare | Buffalo News Sports There are two proven routes for Australians to follow toward a career in pro golf. There’s the Adam Scott path, which entails honing one’s game in the homeland and then entering “finishing school” at a U.S. college, in his case UNLV. And then there’s the route followed by Jason Day, who never entered a U.S. college and instead made the jump straight to the pro level after evolving in Australia and on the U.S. summer amateur circuit. Australian Harrison Endycott tees off on the 16th hole during round two of the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News) Harrison Endycott has chosen to follow in Day’s footsteps although a number of major U.S. college programs would have an interest. There’s no arguing with the route the 20-year-old from Sydney has elected to follow. Endycott arrived in the U.S. on a hot streak, having won four of his last six Aussie events. He’s positioned to take a run at becoming the third Aussie to capture the Porter Cup after a sizzling second-round 64 Thursday morning drew him within two shots of leader Gavin Hall. “There were some fairer pins out there,” Endycott said. “If you’re in the right spots you can take advantage of them.” Endycott is on a 2 ½-month tour of the U.S. that will extend through the national amateur. It’s a setup that he views as the best of both worlds. “I wanted to stay back home and represent my country and lucky enough … I actually had four wins out of six in my country back home and then I got picked on the Australian team,” he said. “So it kind of just made me stay, and we do a bit of traveling, which is good. Just happy to be over here playing all the summer golf and I love coming over here. Aussie’s have carved out a presence at the Porter Cup. Scott and Day played here, with Day finishing as runner-up in 2005. Geoff Drakeford (2014) and Simon Nash (2002) won here. The allure? “I think it’s just the people,” Endycott said. “We get treated so well in the U.S. and Australians just love coming over here. It’s amazing how you can play a tournament and stay with a great host family. “I think all the Australians just can’t wait to come over here and play golf.” Endycott’s game has been rock solid. He made eight birdies Thursday against two bogeys. He seems poised to make the jump to a pro career. “At the moment I think I’m going to play another year out as an amateur,” he said. “To be honest with you I’m just talking to the right people and just going to be sticking to what I’m doing and I think I’ll know when I’m ready and my team around me will know when I’m ready. We just got to keep plugging away, keep playing events over here and hopefully have just a good amateur career so we get some opportunities.” email: bdicesare@buffnews.com

First pro game was Buffalo vs. Wild By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports Reporter Garrett Rank of Elmira chips onto the ninth green during round one of the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston,NY on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (James P. McCoy/ Buffalo News) Garrett Rank walked off the 18th green to a smattering of applause Wednesday following the first round of the 58th Porter Cup. Compared to the usual reaction he gets at his day job, that’s a nice change. The 28-year-old from Elmira, Ont., will be a full-time NHL referee for the 2016-17 season, working 73 games. He worked 31 games last year, and eight during the 2014-15 season. His first NHL game came in Buffalo on Jan. 15, 2015. “It wasn’t much of a game,” Rank said of the Minnesota Wild’s 7-0 blowout victory over the Sabres. “Still, it was a really cool experience. A lot of my family and friends came down since it was so close to home, so that was a special moment.” Rank will be back in the First Niagara Center on Sept. 10 when NFL officials report to training camp, which consists of five days of fitness testing, rules classes and on-ice work. “Not much changes, really,” he said of being assigned full-time to the NHL after working some in the American Hockey League last season. “I’ve got to come ready to work every night. Things happen a lot faster in the NHL than they do in the American League. It’ll be a little bit of an adjustment travel wise, but for the most part it’s just another hockey game and you’re just out there doing your job.” Prior to hitting the ice, Rank’s got a packed golf schedule. The Porter Cup is his fifth straight week of tournament play, and he’s got four more scheduled to come. “The job really allows me to hone in on my golf game in the summer,” Rank said. “It would be nice to play golf for a living, but this is second best to that. I’ve got a great job and have no plans of leaving that.” Rank is making his sixth appearance in the Porter Cup. He opened with a round of 2-over 72 at Niagara Falls Country Club, and sits seven shots behind leader Gavin Hall. “It’s just a fun atmosphere,” Rank said. “An elite amateur golf tournament so close to home. It’s not much trouble to get here. I’ve got a really good relationship with the family I stay with, and I just enjoy playing competitive golf.” Rank is coming off a memorable weekend at his national championship. He opened with rounds of 69 and 75 at the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open to make the cut before fading on the weekend at Glen Abbey with consecutive rounds of 76. “I went into the tournament with the goal of making the cut,” Rank said. “I played a little bit scratchy on the weekend, but it was a great experience and a lifetime memory that I’ll have with my brother (Kyle, who served as his caddy), playing on Sunday. Walking up the 18th green was pretty special in front of the home crowd. “The Canadian fans get really behind the tournament. They’re really pressing for a Canadian to win it. It’s been a long time. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It’s that kind of atmosphere.” Rank had very little time to soak in the experience. On Monday, he was in West Virginia for a U.S. Amateur qualifier, shooting rounds of 65 and 68 to win medalist honors at Williams Country Club. That qualifies him for a spot in the U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills in Michigan. Rank will also play in the Western Amateur, as well as the Canadian Amateur and Mid-Amateur. “It’s a busy run,” he said with a smile. “I’m kind of getting worn out a little bit, but for the most part it’s pretty fun to play.” email: jskurski@buffnews.com

By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports Reporter Gavin Hall of Pittsford shot a front-nine 30 and finished with a 5-under 65 to lead the first round of the 58th Porter Cup. (James P. McCoy/Buffalo News) Gavin Hall wasted no time Wednesday showing why he was considered the man to beat coming into the 58th Porter Cup. A front-nine 30 at Niagara Falls Country Club gave Hall the early lead, and he held onto it, finishing with a round of 5-under 65. “All in all, a good first round,” Hall said. “I felt like the golf course showed some teeth today. The scores were a little bit higher. There were certainly times I was not shooting at the pin, because if you’re missing it just a little bit, you’re going to make bogey. I like the way it’s playing this year – I think it’s a good test.” Hall made five birdies on the outward nine as part of the featured threesome with Derek Bard and Canadian Jared du Toit. “Derek and I played pretty solid on the front nine. We were rolling off each other with birdies, and Jared was playing pretty good, too,” he said. “The wind died down for us on the front. Then on the back nine it tended to swirl a little bit.” Hall’s only dropped shot of the round came on the par-4 15th – a hole that has given him problems in his four previous Porter Cup appearances. Nevertheless, he holds a three-shot lead over five other players in the 84-man field. “It’s only the first day,” Hall said. “Tomorrow, put together another good round. There are a lot of wedges out here if you’re playing from the fairway or playing from controlled lies. I think if you get in this rough, it’s hard to judge it. You could fly it. The greens are soft enough where if you’re in the fairway and you’ve got wedges, you can attack.” Reichert in the hunt: The five players tied for second at 2-under 68 are Tyler Strafaci, Gaston Bertinotti, Jake Shuman, Will Long and East Amherst’s Ben Reichert. After opening with bogeys on the first two holes, Reichert played 4-under over the last 16. “I knew I was fine. I was swinging well. I just made a couple bad swings the first couple holes,” he said. A 20-minute delay on the tee at the par-5 third hole gave Reichert time to compose himself, and he responded with back-to-back birdies to get back to level par. “I actually made a decent putt for bogey on No. 2 from about 8 feet,” he said. “I just calmed myself down after that.” Reichert is playing in his second straight Porter Cup. “Last year, I didn’t do anything great,” he said of his tie for 42nd. “I knew I could compete. There’s no question about that.” Hold up: A small band of thunderstorms blew over the Niagara Escarpment, delaying play for a short time. Players were called off the course at 3:10 p.m., but back out about 30 minutes later. “We’ve played enough golf, where we’ve all played in stuff like this,” Hall said. “It was a long day, but at the same time, everyone has got to deal with it who’s playing in the afternoon.” In the breeze: The great equalizer at Niagara Falls is the wind. The course’s greatest protection is when it’s swirling along the Niagara Escarpment. That was the case most of Wednesday. “Especially when we teed off, the wind was blowing,” said Reichert, who went off in the third-to-last group at 12:10 p.m. Shot of the day: The delay came with Reichert on the par-5 11th hole. Two quality shots left him in the front of the green when the horn blew. After the delay, he holed his chip shot for the only eagle of the day at No. 11. “It was solid,” he said. I’m definitely not out of it by any means, so go fire something low Friday and see what happens.” Other locals: There are a dozen local players in the field. Lewiston’s Mike Boss is tied for 21st after a 1-over 71 that included a 2-under 33 on the back nine. Williamsville’s Bill Gaffney is tied for 32nd after a 2-over 72. The rest of the WNYers include: Elma’s Billy Hanes (4-over 74, tied for 52nd), Tonawanda’s Nicholas Morreale (74, T52), Elma’s David Hanes (75, T59), Williamsville’s Jack Katz (75, T59), Silver Creek’s Jamie Miller (75, T59), Lockport’s Desmond Stoll (78, T76), Clarence’s Marc Holzhauer (78, T76), East Amherst’s Chris Yustin (78, T76) and Amherst’s Jake Kreuz (81, T81). Back to earth: Just three days after playing in the final group at the RBC Canadian Open, du Toit had to deal with an inevitable hangover. “It felt a lot more low key, obviously,” he said. “Nerves felt a lot better, kind of what you’d expect, I think. It almost felt like a practice round almost out there today, which was probably bad, because I think I didn’t take it as seriously almost, and made a lot of stupid mistakes.” A triple bogey on the par-4 17th led to a round of 3-over 73. “I was just so exhausted after that last week,” du Toit said. “I think I need to smarten up the next couple days.” Closing stretch: Du Toit was far from the only player to have difficulty on Niagara Falls’ closing three holes – the par-3 16th, par-4 17th and par-3 18th. Reichert bogeyed No. 16 when his tee shot went just over the green. “I thought I hit a great shot,” he said. “It was just off the back. If you can play those even or 1- or 2-over for the week, you’ll be right there if you’re playing steady.” Course statistics: The stroke average for 84 players was 72.94. Just 12 players managed to break par. The toughest hole was the par-3 third, which averaged 3.46. The par-5 third hole was the easiest, at 4.61 thanks to two eagles and 34 birdies. Schedule: The second round begins at 8 a.m. Thursday. Admission is free. Parking is available off Military Road, with a small fee being collected for the Boy Scouts. email: jskurski@buffnews.com

By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports Reporter Back in 2011, John Peterson came to the Porter Cup after making some bold claims. A free spirit from Fort Worth, Texas, Peterson claimed “the top guys in college, the top 20 or 30 guys, can beat the top 20, 30 guys on the PGA Tour … if given the opportunity.” As far as controversies go in the golf world, a small one erupted. Peterson’s comments felt like a reach when he said them, and should still be classified as such. Not since Phil Mickelson did it in 1991 has an amateur won on the PGA Tour. But some recent performances by amateur players do make them worth revisiting. Amateur Jared du Toit played in the final group at last week’s RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey in Oakville, Ont. The latest example came over the weekend at the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open, where 21-year-old amateur Jared du Toit went into the final round of his national championship as part of the last group, trailing leader Brandt Snedeker by only one shot. He couldn’t finish the Cinderella story, closing with a 1-under-par round of 71 to finish in a tie for ninth place. “To not have my best stuff and still shoot under par out here, the final round of the Canadian Open, feels pretty good,” du Toit said. Blair Hamilton, a teammate of du Toit’s on the Golf Canada National Team, echoed Peterson, “I’ve always said, the best amateurs in the world, if they’re on their game, they can beat anybody.” Which brings us to this week’s 58th Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club. Some of those amateurs, including du Toit, will be in the field. In her first year of putting together the field, assistant tournament director Cassie Stein has rounded up 17 of the top 100 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking. “It’s been a really exciting year,” Stein said. “I’m very grateful they’ve given me the opportunity. “Being out on the recruiting trail, talking to players, it’s been a lot of fun. “With social media, I’ve had players contact me on Twitter. It’s a whole different age and just a whole different group. I hope I did a good job in recruiting some of the best players from around the world.” His performance at the Canadian Open rocketed du Toit to No. 6 in the world, making him the highest-ranked player in the field. Here are nine more players, in alphabetical order, who can be considered top contenders for the tournament, which begins Wednesday: Derek Bard: The 21-year-old from New Hartford is seeking to become the second straight winner from the University of Virginia, following Denny McCarthy in 2015. Bard finished as the runner-up to former world No. 1 amateur Bryson DeChambeau at the 2015 U.S. Amateur. By way of that finish, Bard earned spots in this year’s Masters and U.S. Open. He missed the cut by just three shots at Augusta. Just once in Porter Cup history has there been back-to-back winners from the same school, with Bard and McCarthy looking to join Georgia’s Brian Harman (2007) and Adam Mitchell (2008). David Boote: The 22-year-old from Surrey, England, is playing in his second Porter Cup. A recent graduate of Stanford, Boote is ranked 38th in the world and finished tied for third at the 2016 Pac-12 Conference Championship. Harrison Endycott: The native of Sydney, Australia, is playing in his second Porter Cup after tying for 12th last year. Endycott is ranked 22th in the world and won this year’s South Australian Amateur. He’s looking to become the third Australian champion, joining Simon Nash (2002) and Geoff Drakeford (2014). Taylor Funk: The son of PGA Tour veteran Fred Funk, Taylor Funk is ranked 57th by SPWAR. The junior at Texas is a former state high school champion in Florida. Gavin Hall: A Porter Cup veteran now making his fifth appearance, Hall will play his senior year for Texas in the fall. Ranked No. 16 by SPWAR, he first finished second as a 15-year-old, and placed third in 2015. “Gavin Hall. You’ve got to start with him first,” Stein said of this week’s contenders. “It’s his fifth time here and he hasn’t finished outside the top 10, so that’s got to say something. I would definitely put him on everyone’s radar.” Scott Harvey: The 38-year-old from Kernersville, N.C., leads the mid-amateur entries – those players at least 25 years old. Harvey finished in a tie for sixth last year and will compete in his eighth Porter Cup. He’s looking to become the first mid-amateur winner since Gene Elliott in 1998. Elliott is back in this year’s field after a seven-year absence. Travis Smyth: The 21-year-old tied for 27th in his first Porter Cup in 2015. The 2016 runner-up in the Australian Amateur is ranked 28th by SPWAR. Alejandro Tosti: The 20-year-old junior at the University of Florida is a Porter Cup veteran, making his fourth appearance. Ranked 47th by SPWAR, he’ll be looking to improve on a disappointing tie for 36th in 2015. Federico Zucchetti: Ranked just outside the top 100 at No. 111 by SPWAR, Zucchetti is believed to be the first-ever Italian player in the Porter Cup field. The 21-year-old is a senior at Texas Tech. A total of seven countries are represented in this year’s field. There are 10 players from the Buffalo area in the field, including Nicholas Morreale, the latest entry by way of his recent victory in the Niagara Falls CC championship. Add in the three players from the Rochester area, including Hall, and this year’s tournament will have a slightly more local feel than in the recent past. Stein thinks that’s a good thing. “I think it definitely increases interest,” she said. “It brings more people out here and gets more eyes on the tournament. … There’s so many players on a hot streak now that are local.” Included on that list is David Hanes, who after qualifying for a spot in the Porter Cup went on to win the International Junior Masters earlier this month. McCarthy isn’t in the field to defend his title because he turned pro at the end of last summer and is currently on the Web.com Tour. He earned his victory with a par on the first playoff hole over Carter Jenkins, who has also started a professional career. That’s been the story for several top amateurs this year, largely because the Walker Cup isn’t on this year’s calendar. Generally, the best amateur players delay turning professional so that they can compete in the amateur version of the Ryder Cup. Without that option this year, players like DeChambeau have turned pro. Nevertheless, Stein is excited about her first field. “There’s a lot of good players,” she said. “You could name anyone and I’d say they have a chance to win.” Stein focused on player recruitment as the tournament underwent a change in leadership following last year’s event. Steve Denn stepped down after 15 years as tournament director, with Dena Armstrong and Michael Vitch taking over as co-tournament directors.

By Bob DiCesare | Buffalo News Sports Reporter Pittsford’s Gavin Hall has knocked hard on the door to a Porter Cup title. (Harry Scull Jr./News file photo) Pittsford’s Gavin Hall comes into his fifth Porter Cup on a trajectory reminiscent of a competitor in another major local tournament, a player who now owns two PGA Tour titles. Here’s the opening to my story from the 2001 International Junior Masters: Matt Every of Daytona Beach, Fla., seemed destined to win the International Junior Masters from the time he set foot on East Aurora Country Club in 1998. He took an immediate liking to the course. He medaled his first time here, as a 13-year-old. And he’s continued to elevate his game, rising to 30th in the American Junior Golf Association national rankings. All Every had to conquer was his reputation as an unaccomplished match player, which has made him the object of some good-natured kidding among his friends. “All my buddies are like, ‘Matt’s a good player but he can’t play match play,’ ” Every said. “I guess I overcame that his week.” Matt Every won the 2001 International Junior Masters and went on to capture the 2014 and 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour. (Getty Images) Every maintained a stoic demeanor right until the end of his championship match with Santiago Caicedo of Colombia on Friday afternoon.  But after he dropped a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 16 to win, 3 and 2, the meaning of this victory was immediately evident. He tossed his golf hat to the ground, dropped his putter, raised his hands and looked to the sky. He had been among the favorites to win here for the last four years. Finally, he was the lone survivor. “It’s such a relief,” Every said, “Especially since I can’t come back.” Hall has appeared a Porter Cup champion-in-waiting since 2000, when at 15 years old he finish tied for second, three strokes behind. Set back by a wrist injury, he returned in 2013 and tied for eighth, 10 strokes in arrears. In 2014 he tied for eighth again, five back. Last year he was solo third, finishing two behind. Over 16 Porter Cup rounds his a cumulative 28-under par with only two over-par rounds on the par-70 layout. He tees off at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Every won the IJM in his last year of eligibility. Hall will remain eligible for the Porter Cup so long as he remains an amateur. While there’s little doubt he’ll turn pro, it’s possible he’ll still be an amateur at this time next summer to remain in the picture for the U.S. Walker Cup team. If that’s the case no doubt he’d prefer to return as the defending champion. email: bdicesare@buffnews.com

By Jay Skurski | Buffalo News Sports Dakota McNealy’s Porter Cup debut was going well until he reached the 17th hole. The brutal par-4 gobbled up McNealy’s tee shot out of bounds, sending him on his way to a triple bogey. A bounce-back birdie on the par-3 18th gave McNealy a round of 3-over 73 at Niagara Falls Country Club. I made five birdies today, so that’s good,” McNealy said. “It always means your game’s close if you’re making that many birdies.” Among participants in this year’s event, McNealy has one of the more interesting stories. His father, Scott, co-founded Sun Microsystems, which was acquired by Oracle Corp. for $7.4 million in 2010. His older brother, Maverick, is the No. 1 amateur in the world – but has considered passing up the pursuit of a professional career. At just 18, Dakota McNealy is at least a few years away from making those kinds of decisions. “I have no idea what I want to do,” he said after Wednesday’s round. “I want to get my mechanical engineering degree at Stanford, and after that I’ll let the rest take care of itself. For right now I’m focused on getting my game better and getting ready for school in the fall.” Dakota McNealy will be a freshman with the Cardinal in the fall, joining Maverick for his senior year. Maverick McNealy is playing as an amateur in the Web.com Tour’s Ellie May Classic in California, so he had to miss this year’s Porter Cup. “He couldn’t make it, unfortunately,” Dakota McNealy said, “but he told me it’s a really cool event. I’ver heard great things about it from everybody who’s played in it. … I’m really enjoying it so far.” Dakota McNealy tees off for the second round at 11:10 a.m. Friday.