RENO - Jeff Quinney and Spencer Levin enjoyed bittersweet first rounds Thursday at the 11th annual Legends Reno-Tahoe Open Thursday at Montreux Golf & Country Club.
Both were in the process of shooting a very good number, possibly good enough to lead the tournament, when disaster struck.
Levin led or shared the lead until he bogeyed two of his last three holes and finished with a 4-under 68. Quinney bogeyed his final two holes and finished with a 3-under 69. Both solid rounds that obviously could have been better.
"I did good," Levin said. "I made a couple of good putts; a couple of saves."
Levin was leading at 6-under going the par-3 7th, his third-to-last hole.He drove the ball to the left of the green, but was unable to get up and down to save par.
"That was weird," Levin said. "I don't know what happened there. I just came over it I guess and pulled it."
Levin parred No. 8, but disaster struck at No. 9, the downhill 616-yard, par-5. He hit a 300-yard drive off the tee and opted to go for the green to set up a possible eagle. His second shot found the water and his par putt, which would have given him a share of first place, lipped out. He tapped in for a bogey and finds himself in a seven-way tie for second place.
"I had a perfect drive (on 18)," Levin said. "I was trying to hit the ball to the left side of the green. I looked up and the ball was going into the lake. I had about 250 yards to miss left there and I didn't. And, it cost me a hole shot, which is one shot. Not that big a deal - that's a joke by the way.
"You gotta (go for it in two). If you pull that shot off you have the chance to make eagle. So, yeah, absolutely."
Quinney, who also started his round on No. 10, was 5-under when he reached No. 8, a 464-yard, par-4. He bogeyed the hole, dropping to 4-underr heading into the par-5 ninth which was playing downwind and certainly reachable in two.
Quinney's tee shot on the ninth was knocked down by a tree, and that set the stage for a second consecutive bogey and a 3-under 69.
Not a bad start, but it easily could have been a 66 or 67.
Quinney birdied five holes - one, two, four, 14 and 18. He had two bogeys.
"Overall, I'm very happy," Quinney said. "It was 5-under and bogey free; pretty smooth. Obviously I'm disappointed with the last couple of holes.
"Basically, I had to lay up twice on the last hole. I thought it was a great shot (off the tee). I don't know. It was just one of those shots that came out of the blue. I felt good with the shot. I was hoping to make birdie trying to rebound from bogey. You hate to bogey the last hole, let alone a par-5 downhill."
Quinney has made three straight cuts, including a fourth-place tie at the U.S. Bank in Milwaukee event and a top-25 finish at the RBC Canadian Open. He is currently 139th on the money list, and needs to move up 14 spots to stay qualified for the tour.
"I feel great (about my game)," Quinney said. "I've made some cuts. My game is definitely turning the corner. Nice to be in here for a change and off to a better start.
"I had high expectations coming into this week. I felt my game was on all cylinders. I worked with my coach this week. I was out here to win this week."