Jacob Niedbalski
A light rain that fell through a portion of Saturday’s opening round of the Men’s City Golf Tournament might have had something to do with most scores not being as low as first rounds at Greenbelt over the past few years.
For one golfer, however, the rain was no match. Jacob Niedbalski fired a 7-under-par 65 to take a five-shot lead into today’s final round.
“I started off pretty hot,” Niedbalski said. “With the weather, I stayed pretty composed. I knew I’d go low, but I didn’t think I would go this low.”
Niedbalski, a 2021 Columbus North graduate, played one year of golf at St. Francis before transferring to Eastern Kentucky last year to join its golf management program. Although he doesn’t play for the Colonels, he gets a chance to play at least a couple times a week.
On Saturday, Niedbalski opened with a 32 the first time around Greenbelt’s nine-hole track. He came back with a 33 on the back nine.
“My wedges were pretty good,” Niedbalski said. “I’d say the strength of my game was definitely my short game and my driving.”
The only blemish on Niedbalski’s card came on the par-4 No. 15. He snap-hooked his tee shot, but was able to punch out and got up-and-down for bogey.
“Then, it was kind of smooth sailing in,” Niedbalski said.
“That was a great round for Jake,” added Luke VanDeventer, who is in second place after a 70. “That’s awesome for him. I’m glad he could shoot a really good round today. I’m proud of him.”
Luke VanDeventer
VanDeventer, a former classmate and teammate of Niedbalski at North, played in the same group and was within one shot after a 33 on the first nine. But VanDeventer, who played at Vincennes University the past two years and is headed to Huntington to continue his golf career, slipped to a 37 on the back.
“I felt today was a pretty poor day, honestly,” VanDeventer said. “I struck the ball pretty well, but other than that, putting was very poor today. If I could have just got a bunch more of those putts to fall, that was kind of the difference maker in not shooting a lot lower today. I was just trying to focus on making birdies and pars, and it just so happened, I made a lot of pars and not enough birdies that I needed to.”
Ben Luedeke
While Niedbalski and VanDeventer were the only two of the 40 golfers to break par on Saturday, one other player shot even par 72. Ben Luedeke, who will be a senior at Columbus East, bounced back from a 38 on his first nine with a 34 the second time around.
“It was pretty solid,” Luedeke said. “Overall, I played decent. I hit the ball fine. I just have to make more putts to compete. That’s the main thing.”
Eric Grider is in fourth place after a 73. Jeremy Newland, Nate VanDeventer and Ed Hopkins are tied for fifth at 74. Rounding out the top 10 are Kyle Wieneke, Gunner Jones and Danny Holcomb at 75.
Steve Lewis leads the senior division following a 74. Keith Owen and Dee Jones are tied for second at 80; and Jim Smith, Jim Wright and Larry Pushor are tied for fourth at 81.
Today’s final round also will be played at Greenbelt. The leaders in the senior flight are scheduled to tee off at 8:40 a.m., and the leaders in the championship flight are scheduled to tee off at 9:50 a.m.
Scores from Saturday’s first round of the Men’s City Golf Tournament at Greenbelt:
Jacob Niedbalski;65
Luke VanDeventer;70
Ben Luedeke;72
Eric Grider;73
Jeremy Newland;74
Nate VanDeventer;74
Ed Hopkins;74
Kyle Wieneke;75
Gunner Jones;75
Danny Holcomb;75
Ryan Kistler;77
Brad Luedeke;78
Avery Foist;78
Brian Jones;78
Scott Ousley;79
Andrew McComb;81
Walker Thomas;81
Aditya Banerjee;83
Mason Reeves;85
Travis Starnes;86
Jason Rice;88
Luke Rice;90
James Lane;92
Matt White;94
James Anderson;106
Senior Division
Steve Lewis;74
Keith Owen;80
Dee Jones;80
Jim Smith;81
Jim Wright;81
Larry Pushor;81
Man Sung;84
Russell Turnbow;87
Steve Chinn;93
Bob Welker;95
Kelly Daugherty;95
Marshall Burton;96
Jerry Duncan;98
Mike Hover;103
Carl White;104
