Senior attends golf tournament
John Kelly plays at international competition in Augusta, Ga.
Published April 6, 2007
After placing second at the U.S. Amateur last summer, MU senior John Kelly earned a spot in the 2007 Masters Championship, which takes place this week at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
Kelly carded a 5-over par round of 77 in the tournament opener Thursday, tying him for 59th place out of 96 golfers in the tournament.
He shot par on the front nine with a 36. After bogeying the first two holes, Kelly balanced with a pair of birdies. On the back nine, Kelly ran into some trouble bogeying and double-bogeying four holes, but he made par on the other five.
Kelly's score of 77 tied him for 59th overall, ahead of Ernie Els and only one shot behind 2006 Masters champion Phil Mickelson.
Practice rounds started Monday with Kelly practicing with Seve Ballesteros, Ben Crenshaw and Jerry Pate on Tuesday. During a practice round on Monday, Kelly was only inches away from landing a hole-in-one on the 16th hole.
Richie Ramsay, who beat Kelly to win the U.S. Amateur, finished a stroke better at 76 and is tied for 43rd place. While participating in the tournament, Kelly is staying in the "Crow's Nest" above the Augusta clubhouse with four other amateur golfers, including Ramsay.
Because of his runner-up performance in August at the U.S. Amateur in Chaska, Minn., Kelly also has an invitation to play in the U.S. Open in June at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Penn.
Kelly will tee off today for the second day of the tournament at 10:51 a.m. If he makes the cut after today's round, his tournament will continue through the final two rounds this weekend.
