EVANSVILLE — This is what you hope to see in the Romain Cadillac Evansville Men’s City golf tournament.
The opening weekend is in the books following rounds at Fendrich and Helfrich. There have been low rounds at the city courses — 23 players are under par — but strong golf in general. Also throw in a new record to set up what should be another competitive and frankly fun final weekend.
More: Here are the first round scores from the 2024 Evansville Men’s City Golf Tournament
Here are a few takeaways from the first two days.
A strong start from the City Tournament leaders
Peyton Blackard accomplished goal number one this weekend. Giving himself a chance for next week.
The Gibson Southern senior is the City Tournament leader at 11-under. He followed a 63 at Fendrich with a four-under 67 on Sunday at Helfrich. Blackard had five birdies and didn’t record a bogey over his final 11 holes. There’s not much more you can ask of in a tournament setting.
The Notre Dame commit has trended towards this kind of result in the City Tournament. Blackard was the runner-up in 2022 when David Mills flirted with the tournament scoring record. This year could be his turn if tee shots continue to cooperate like this weekend.
“The way I hit it off the tee this weekend was very solid,” said Blackard. “A lot better than it has been recently. I’m hitting it far enough now to have wedges into a lot of par 4s. If I can give myself as many chances with those out of the fairway, I should be able to contend come the last day.”
One notable hurdle? His lead is only one shot over the other first-round co-leader.
Cameron Weyer backed up his strong opening day with another good number. The Jasper graduate posted a 68 with four birdies to reach 10-under going to Rolling Hills. He would have settled for a few under before the tournament, but reaching double digits changes the game. The former Evansville Ace made winning this tournament a goal after finishing in the top 15 the past five years. His career best is ninth (2021, 2019).
“I know it sounds crazy, but I probably played better today,” Weyer said. “If you had told me 10-under after two rounds, I take it 10 times over. I also know I’m capable of that, as long as I play my game. My whole key is making confident swings.”—
A course record was set in the second round
It takes a lot to make history in the Evansville City Tournament, now in its 95th year. Welcome, Matt Monroe.
The Fort Branch native not only rose the leaderboard but posted a competitive course record at Helfrich with an 8-under 63; the former record was set by Bob Deutsch in 1990. Monroe birdied five of his first six holes to shoot a 29 on the front.
It was an impressive turnaround from a 70 at Fendrich – he struggled off the tee and his longest made putt was six feet. Monroe only missed two fairways in the second round to sit only three shots back. Regardless of what comes next, no one can match what he did on Sunday.
“I got chills a little bit,” said Monroe. “Sixty-three is a great score, but there are so many great players that have been through here. It’s an incredible honor. I drove it perfect all day and putted really well. To start out birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie got me going. Everything was just way sharper.”
Will a high school or college golfer win the City title?
A lot of eyes will be on Blackard next weekend and deservedly so. Don’t overlook another prep standout.
North senior Brody Sorrell is tied for third at 8-under following a 65-68 opening weekend. The Ball State commit recorded 11 birdies in the first two days. It’s a continuance of a strong summer that included qualifying for the United States Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills in July.
“I hit the ball well,” said Sorrell. “There’s a lot of good players out here, but I’m playing well. I hit the driver well (Saturday) and today. I think that’s going to help me a lot at Rolling and ECC.”
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A number of local high school or college stars are in contention going to Rolling Hills. Michigan senior Ben Hoagland recovered from a struggle at Fendrich to shoot a 67 in the second round. The Memorial graduate and defending champion had seven birdies to reach 5-under.
Incoming IU Indianapolis freshman and Gibson Southern grad Daymian Rij entered the mix with a 69-68 weekend to finish 4-under. Thomas Broshears, another Memorial grad, is among a handful at 3-under thanks to a strong first round.
Another talented field led to low scores again
It will take two good rounds at Rolling Hills and Evansville Country Club because of the depth of this field.
A pair of former City champions in Matthew Ladd and Hoagland are six back at 5-under, along with Jacob Fleming and Blake Ruckman. Eric Brinker, Trevor Grant, Ryan Chandler and Rij are only seven shots behind. There are a dozen more under par including two former champions (Logan Osborne, Chip Tiemann) and two runner-ups (Spencer Wagner, Nathan Hoss).
The cut this year was 3-over. Just for comparison, it was 6-over last year. This matched the lowest cut in the last five years. My…
