Things heat up on first day of Burbank City Amateur Golf Championship
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BURBANK — Golfers were trying to keep their cool literally and figuratively Friday in the opening round of the Burbank City Amateur Golf Championship at the De Bell Golf Club.
With temperatures topping the 100-degree mark on the first day of the three-day event and golfers having to deal with a course that can be challenging as well as unforgiving, athletes had a great deal to contend with.
PHOTOS: 2015 Burbank City Amateur Golf Championship
“It is very hot and that makes it kind of tough,” said tournament participant Andy Overton of Lakewood. “The heat is pretty bad today and it is a bit of a hassle.
“But I have been coming to this tournament every year and I have had to deal with a lot of different weather. When they used to have the tournament in March, I remember one year it had been raining and I had to scrape the ice off of one of the greens it was so cold. When you’re a golfer, you have to deal with a lot of different conditions.”
Many of the 61 golfers in the Championship Flight said they had golfed at De Bell before and they admitted the par-71, 5,608-yard layout that features challenging barrancas, narrow fairways and some tricky pin placement can be frustrating for those tackling the course for the first time.
The golfer who seemingly dealt with the heat the best was Tyler Collier of Chino, who is the leader after the first round after firing a four-under-par 68. He is followed by Reilly McCahon and Don Baker, who both shot 70s, Dalton James and Shane Favinger with 73s and Dan Pouliot and Jim Camainoe with 74s.
The tournament, which includes net flights, will resume at 8 a.m. Saturday and the final rounds will take place Sunday beginning at 8 a.m.
“I’ve golfed here a lot before and it can be tough if you really don’t know the course,” said Anthony Capozza III of Granada Hills. “It can give you a lot of problems if you really don’t know the course. You really have to know where to place your ball or you’ll be in trouble.
“But I like it here. This is my fourth tournament here in a row and it’s a lot of fun.”
James, a Burbank resident, has golfed his share of rounds at De Bell over the years.
“Sometimes there’s always that phenom that shows up and although it’s his first time playing the course, he just hits the ball in the right spots, putts well and makes the shot he has to,” he said. “But I also think course knowledge helps out, but you never know. In the past, I’ve played some courses that I didn’t know and I shot some good scores.
“I think the course conditions today were great. The greens are awesome, although my putting sucked. It’s just the greens were faster than I thought.”
Last year’s tournament champion, Robert Valerio of Hawthorne, said he didn’t play particularly well on Friday.
“The course is in good shape, but it’s playing a little tough today,” Valerio said. “The greens are tricky and the pins are tricky. I’m just struggling today. I lost a ball on the eight and that didn’t help.
“It’s a local-knowledge golf course and if you live around here and play here a lot it helps. ...I just think I got lucky and played well last year when I won it.”