Noll Takes One Stroke Lead in Georgia Amateur Championship

David Noll, Jr., of Dalton finished the third round at even-par 70, giving him a 54-hole total of 2-under-par 208 (71-67-70) and a one stroke advantage over Anders Albertson of Woodstock (1-under-par 201, 69-69-71) going into the final round of the 2011 Georgia Amateur Championship. 

Noll, the four-time reigning GSGA Player of the Year, turned in two birdies and two bogeys on Saturday’s round at Cherokee Town & Country Club in the Huntcliff community, and will look to capture his second amateur championship of his career since winning the annual event in 2003. Albertson, who plays golf for Georgia Tech, hopes to continue his impressive play in tomorrow’s final round and catch Noll on the leaderboard for his first amateur championship of his young career. 

Noll and Albertson kept the third round exciting as the two players traded the top spot on the leaderboard. Going into the 18th-hole, the two players were tied at 2-under-par overall. Noll sunk his putt to save par and finished at 2-under, but Albertson missed an eight-foot putt and tapped in for bogey and a 1-under-par total. Overall, Noll is happy with the way he has been playing with the near-perfect conditions of the golf course this week.

"I think the greens were at least a foot faster today,” Noll said. “It was difficult out there, but I played pretty solid. I was a little shaky with the putter, but it was by-and-large due to the quicker greens today. I would have liked to have shot a couple under today. I definitely left a couple out there, which would have given me more of a cushion for tomorrow, but overall it was good.”

Noll knows the grind that comes with the Georgia Amateur Championship after winning the annual event back in 2003 at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw. 

”Layne Williams [GSGA Senior Director, Rules and Competitions] always says the state amateur is like a marathon. You don’t have to shoot something like 22-under, you just have to outlast the other guy. Today [Sunday] is going to be a tough day.”

This week is Albertson’s first time playing Cherokee Town & Country Club’s North Course, and he is happy with his play through the first three rounds.

”It was a real grind out there today. The greens were really fast and firm like always and the pins were a little bit tougher today [Saturday]. I know Mr. Noll pretty well, so tomorrow should be a good match. It will be fun. I know we have some guys close to us, so it should be an exciting afternoon Sunday.”

Albertson echoed Noll’s thoughts on the North Course at Cherokee Town & Country Club, and also understands what a grind this week can be.

”This is my first time playing this course and I am very impressed with the greens. It is a real good test anytime you get to play brand new greens and these are firm and fast, so it has been real fun to play.”

The defending champion and first-round leader, Lee Knox of Augusta, was one of five players to turn in red numbers on day three, finishing at 1-under-par 69 to bring his 54-hole total to 1-over-par 211 (67-75-69). Knox will begin the final round only three strokes back of the leader and hopes to repeat as champion.

Joining Noll and Albertson towards the top of the leaderboard are seven players within five strokes of Noll’s lead. Doug Hanzel of Savannah is tied for third with the defending champion Knox at 1-over-par 211. A trio of players, Franco Castro of Alpharetta, who plays golf at LSU, second-round leader and Darton College’s head golf coach Bill Jones, III, and 2011 Georgia Mid-Am Champion Mark Strickland of Woodstock are tied for fifth at 2-over-par 212. Tied for eighth is Jeff Knox of Augusta, a two-time Georgia Mid-Am Champion, and the reigning Georgia Public Links Champion William Mitchell of Roswell, at 3-over-par 213. 

The Georgia Amateur Championship is conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association and brings together 144 of the state's best male amateur golfers for the prestigious state title first won by Bobby Jones in 1916.

The Championship format is 72 holes of stroke play over four days. After 36 holes, the field was cut to the low 70 players and ties and anyone within 10 strokes of the leader. The cutline fell at 10-over 150 with 73 players advancing.

An online leader board, featuring all competitors’ complete scorecards, is currently available at www.gsga.org. Sunday’s round will feature live, hole-by-hole scoring for several of the leading groups as well as nine-hole updates for all the other groups.

Georgia State Golf Association
90th Annual Georgia Amateur Championship
Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta
July 7-10, 2011

Third Round Results
Par 70

Place    Name    Rd. 1    Rd. 2    Rd. 3    Score    To Par
1    David Noll  Jr., Dalton    71    67    70    208    -2
2    Anders Albertson, Woodstock    69    69    71    209    -1
T3    Doug Hanzel, Savannah    70    68    73    211    1
T3    Lee Knox, Augusta    67    75    69    211    1
T5    Mark Strickland, Woodstock    73    67    72    212    2
T5    Bill Jones III, Albany    69    68    75    212    2
T5    Franco Castro, Alpharetta    71    69    72    212    2
T8    Jeff Knox, Augusta    75    68    70    213    3
T8    William Mitchell, Roswell    72    69    72    213    3
T10    Cameron Simmons, Acworth    73    70    71    214    4
T10    Ridge Purcell, LaGrange    68    74    72    214    4
T10    Chris Chuck, Roswell    72    74    68    214    4
T10    Patrick Garrett, Powder Springs    71    72    71    214    4
T10    Kris Mikkelsen, Atlanta    70    75    69    214    4
T15    Carter Collins, Statesboro    71    71    73    215    5
T15    Chad Wilson, Calhoun    71    71    73    215    5
T15    Harold Wyatt, Atlanta    75    67    73    215    5
T18    Zach Estep, Lawrenceville    72    73    71    216    6
T18    Gus Wagoner, Duluth    69    72    75    216    6
T18    Chris Waters, Athens    72    74    70    216    6
21    Seth Reeves, Duluth    72    72    73    217    7
T22    Jack Hall, Sea Island    75    72    71    218    8
T22    Mark Sweeney, Monroe    71    73    74    218    8
T22    Brent Whitehead, Marietta    75    73    70    218    8
T22    Matt Russell, Dunwoody    69    74    75    218    8
T22    Zachary Healy, Norcross    71    73    74    218    8
T27    Jay Degenhart, Savannah    71    70    78    219    9
T27    Michael Garretson, Acworth    78    72    69    219    9
T27    Patrick  Kenney, Acworth    71    79    69    219    9
T27    Ryan Parnell, Atlanta    71    73    75    219    9
T27    Greyson Sigg, Augusta    73    71    75    219    9
T32    Cason Hammock, Columbus    74    74    72    220    10
T32    John Stembridge, Norcross    70    78    72    220    10
T32    Patrick Grahek, Alpharetta 74 76 70 220 10
T32    Rich Grote, Kennesaw    72    76    72    220    10
T32    Michael Hinnant, Suwanee    73    76    71    220    10
T37    Lee Dennis, Athens    75    71    75    221    11
T37    Michael Standard, McDonough 71 74 76 221 11
T37    Brendan Gillins, Savannah    74    71    76    221    11
T37    Nate Gahman, Leesburg    73    72    76    221    11
T37    Brent Cooper, Atlanta    70    74    77    221    11
T37    Grant Cagle, Gainesville    73    74    74    221    11
T37    Dylan Freeman, Athens    73    73    75    221    11
T37    Mitch Greer, Perry    73    73    75    221    11
T45    Taylor Smith, Covington    72    77    73    222    12
T45    Jonathan Klotz, Columbus    74    74    74    222    12
T45    Jeff Amershadian, Suwanee    74    70    78    222    12
T45    David  Sullivan, Woodstock    75    74    73    222    12
T45    Rob Mcrae, Augusta    75    74    73    222    12
T50    Bryn Powers, Carrollton    73    71    79    223    13
T50    Zach Lindsey, Kennesaw    73    72    78    223    13
T50    Justin Cho, Norcross    71    74    78    223    13
T50    Mike Cromer, Peachtree Corners    75    73    75    223    13
T50    Alan Fowler, Gainesville    73    73    77    223    13
T55    Dan Whigham Jr., Atlanta    74    76    74    224    14
T55    William Anderson, Atlanta    72    76    76    224    14
T55    Buster Bruton, Dallas    75    71    78    224    14
T55    Bob Royak, Alpharetta    76    73    75    224    14
T55    Coleman Tidwell Jr., Macon    73    74    77    224    14
T55    Gavin Shane Harper, Twin City    77    73    74    224    14
T55    Ted Moon, Lilburn    75    74    75    224    14
T55    John Quirk, Atlanta    79    68    77    224    14
T55    Blaine Woodruff, Acworth    71    74    79    224    14
T64    Taylor Welborn, LaGrange    73    73    79    225    15
T64    Zane Goldthorp, Tucker    78    72    75    225    15
T64    David Yowell, Marietta    70    78    77    225    15
67     Jeff Belk, Marietta    77    72    77    226    16
68     Ray Perez III, Norcross    73    76    79    228    18
69     Scott Weeks, Savannah    76    72    81    229    19
T70   Grant Leroux, Atlanta    73    76    81    230    20
T70   Don Marsh, Johns Creek    75    72    83    230    20
72     Joey Maziar, Atlanta    73    76    83    232    22
73     Richie Wiltfang, Brunswick    76    73    84    233    23