By Robb Luehr | For the Racine County Eye
RACINE, Wis. — Bendt Bendtsen set a new personal benchmark Friday to seize the early lead in the 63rd Racine Tri-Course Amateur Championship.
Bendtsen, who balances golf with running his family’s West Racine bakery, flashed his old form with a 6-under-par 66 at H.F. Johnson Park Golf Course.
He holds a three-shot lead over Mike Masik, who has yet to win the Tri-Course. Masik surged with a 3-under 33 on the back nine. Three-time champion Joe O’Brien was the only other player under par, shooting 1-under 71.
Chris Wood, Justin Kammler, and Matt Puetz each carded even-par 72, while defending champion Ricky Kuiper finished 2-over 74 with four bogeys and two birdies.
In the Senior Division, Jeff Thomas leads with a 6-under 66, three shots ahead of Todd Schaap, who posted a bogey-free 69.
The tournament moves to Meadowbrook Country Club for rounds two and three, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. Bendtsen, Masik, and O’Brien tee off last at 1:44 p.m.
Bendtsen’s 66 is the third-lowest first-round score at Johnson Park in Tri-Course tournament history and one shot better than his opening round last year. He blitzed the front nine with four birdies—three on par-4s—for a 4-under 32.
His only blemish came with a bogey on the 185-yard, par-3 11th hole, but he bounced back with birdies on the 16th and 18th holes.
“I’ve been playing a little more the last few weeks and my game has actually really come into form,” Bendtsen said. “Piece by piece, my game has been pretty good. I feel like it’s all come together.”
He described his round as easy, with few mistakes.
“I wasn’t really in trouble on the golf course,” he said. “A few shots I didn’t hit well, but I got some good breaks and just made a lot of 10 footers for birdies.”
His highlight was a downhill birdie putt on the 439-yard, par-4 ninth hole. The green’s slope makes a miss roll 10 feet or more past the cup, but Bendtsen nailed it.
“That’s like impossible,” he said. “That’s a round changer. It could be a three putt easily.”
Masik started strong with a birdie on the 602-yard, par-4 first hole but bogeyed the 139-yard, par-3 third. He was even on the front nine with three birdies, three pars, and three bogeys, then caught fire on the back nine.
After two pars, he birdied the 474-yard, par-5 12th, narrowly missing an eagle putt. He followed with back-to-back birdies on the 355-yard, par-4 15th and par-5 16th for a 3-under 33 on the back nine.
“It was decent,” Masik said. “I didn’t have anything of note, no big, long putts or anything. I made a 20-footer on 14 to save par, I drove it on the front edge of 15 and made a birdie, then hit a lob wedge to four or five feet on 16 and made birdie. Other than that, it was just solid.”
O’Brien recovered from an opening bogey with two birdies on the front nine and finished the back nine with birdies on both ends for his 71.
Among the even-par group, Kammler and Puetz each recorded an eagle — Kammler on the par-5 12th hole, Puetz on the 292-yard, par-4 fourth hole.
Kuiper shot 37 on both nines for 74 but remains a contender. Many past champions have won despite a first round at par or worse.
In the Senior Division, Thomas appears eager to reclaim his title. He won the previous three Senior crowns before Schaap took last year’s. Thomas matched Bendtsen with four birdies and a 32 on the front nine, then eagled the 16th for a 34.
Schaap, after three birdies and a 33 on the front nine, finished with 10 straight pars.
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