Keppler, Shipp share the Southeastern Amateur lead at 4-under
The second round was not as smooth as the first for Jonathan Keppler, but the Florida State golfer still has a share of the lead in the 82nd annual Southeastern Amateur.
Keppler shot a 1-under-par 69 in Thursday’s second round. He stands at 4-under 136 after two rounds. Also at 4-under is Benjamin Shipp.
“I had to scramble at the beginning (of Thursday’s round),” Keppler said. “But I settled down.
“But they were two completely different rounds.”
Keppler started out a 2-putt birdie from the fringe on the par-5 first hole. He followed with two straight bogeys.
But he settled down to make five straight pars. He made a 3-footer for birdie on 9 and a 20-footer for birdie on 13.
“We have a long way to go,” Keppler said. “But I am excited to be in the position I am in.”
Keppler was red-shirted this past season at FSU. He will still be a freshman for the 2016-17 season. He won a GHSA individual state championship as a freshman at Kennesaw Mountain High.
Shipp got to 5-under after making birdies on three of the first four holes. But he dropped a shot on the 17th.
Shipp, who played at Greater Atlanta Christian, signed last November to play at North Carolina State.
Shipp led GAC to the Class 2A state championship in May.
Nathan Mallonee, who fired a 65 on Wednesday to lead by two shots, shot a 74 Thursday and fell back to a tie for eighth at 1-under.
Stanton Schorr (Columbus High) has the lowest score for a player with local ties. He is at even-par 140 and tied with Trace Crowe for 15th place.
One shot back of Keppler and Shipp are a trio of golfers, all of whom shot a 68 on Thursday.
Jared Bettcher, who plays at Troy, finished second last year in the Southeastern Amateur. He is tied with Jake Marriott and Cooper Musselman.
Notes: The other players with local ties are James Clark (tie-20th, 2-over) and Ben Carr (t-24th, 3-over), TaeHyung Kim (t-32nd, 4-over), Parker Derby (t-38th, 5-over), Gideon van der Vyver (t-38th, 5-over), Charlie Flowers (t-48th, 6-over), Bobby Brent III (t-62nd, 8-over) David James (t-79th, 13-over) and Evans Copeland (t-85th, 15-over).
The cut will be made after Friday’s third round. The low 60 scores and ties will play the final round Saturday. There are 61 players at 7-over or better after the second round.
Southeastern Amateur Scores
Thursday
Second round
Country Club of Columbus
Par 70
Benjamine Shipp—68-68—136
Jonathan Keppler—67-69—136
Jake Marriott—69-68—137
Cooper Musselman—69-68—137
Jared Bettcher—69-68—137
David Snyder—71-67—138
Steven Fisk—68-70—138
William Rainey—71-68—139
Tyler Joiner—71-68—139
Chad Cox—71-68—139
Lloyd Jefferson Go—70-69—139
Andy Ogletree—68-71—139
Jake Kevorkian—67-72—139
Nathan Mallonee—65-74—139
Trace Crowe—71-69—140
Stanton Schorr—71-69—140
Addison Coll—71-70—141
Henry Westmoreland—71-70—141
Bryson Nimmer—69-72—141
John Jonas—73-69—142
James Clark—72-70—142
Ashton Poole—72-70—142
Peyton Sliger—71-71—142
Chandler Blanchet—69-73—142
Rhyne Jones—73-70—143
Ben Carr—73-70—143
Grant Hirschman—72-71—143
Wesley Gosselin—72-71—143
Blake Messer—72-71—143
Robby Prater—70-73—143
Shea Sylvester—69-74—143
Alastair Tidcombe—68-75—143
Philip Knowles—75-69—144
Dillon Woods—74-70—144
TaeHyung Kim—72-72—144
Forrest Knight—71-73—144
Charles Kim—68-76—144
Gideon van der Vyver—76-69—145
R.J. Keur—75-70—145
Tanner Owens—74-71—145
Hunter Richardson—74-71—145
Jack Larkin—73-72—145
Parker Derby—72-73—145
Richard Donegan—72-73—145
Michael Mattiace—71-74—145
Harrison Shih—71-74—145
Will Chandler—77-69—146
Blake Dyer—75-71—146
Mel Mendenhall—73-73—146
Michael Hines—73-73—146
Nix Duncan—73-73—146
Alfredo Ruiz—72-74—146
Charlie Flowers—70-76—146
Andrew Alligood—78-69—147
Archer Price—78-69—147
Joo-Young Lee—76-71—147
Caleb Proveaux—75-72—147
David Mackey—75-72—147
Hunter Wolcott—74-73—147
Ethan Marcus—72-75—147
Emerson Newsome—71-76—147
John Augenstein—78-70—148
Andrew Novak—75-73—148
Fred Allen Meyer—75-73—148
Bobby Brent III—73-75—148
Jonathan Newnham—77-72—149
Luke Schniederjans—75-74—149
Ryan Celano—75-74—149
Will Miles—74-75—149
Dillon Board—72-77—149
Bennett Baker—71-78—149
Jacob Joiner—78-72—150
Taylor Riggs—76-74—150
Kerry Sweeney—75-75—150
Nicholas Cortez—77-74—151
Elliott Grayson—75-76—151
Steven Chervony—72-79—151
Jacob Morgan—74-78—152
David James—77-76—153
Michael Pisciotta—71-82—153
Connor Messick—82-72—154
Steven Setterstrom Jr.—80-74—154
Carter Thompson—79-75—154
Ethan Wagner—76-78—154
Evans Copeland—79-76—155
Ty Waller—78-77—155
Alex Handy—78-78—156
Mike Lund—82-76—158
Christian Constance—80-78—158
This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Keppler, Shipp share the Southeastern Amateur lead at 4-under."