Golfers beat rain in City Qualifier Round 1 at Cascades

Given the forecast and the experience of last year, placing extra emphasis on a good opening round score in the City Golf Qualifying Tournament was in the back of a few golfers' minds at Cascades on Saturday, June 27.

>Mitch Oard wasn't one of them, preferring more of a water-off-a-duck's back approach. Still, the former champ and tourney hall of famer, announced his return to the tournament after a rare absence in 2025, firing a 67 to take a four-shot lead in the Men's Championship division.

>"I didn't look at the weather," Oard said. "I wasn't really worried about the rain. Didn't look like it's going to rain tomorrow now. I didn't play last year, so I was just excited to be here. Hard to get 131 if you don't play 36."

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>Oard, who last won the qualifier in 2014-15 with 138s, was referring to Ike Martin's long-held qualifying record. Oard had seven birdies to shoot the day's best score.

>"I was very happy with it," Oard said.

>Giving chase to Oard are Sam Wise and Logan Vernon, who fought a balky back through his 18, at an even 71. Brayden Bunger is fourth at 73 and Ryan Decker, coming off his freshman season at Bloomington North, and tourney vet Tony Arnett, are next at 74.

>The outlook was different for first-round leaders Matt Till in Seniors and Dan Neubecker in Super Seniors. They were around last year when rain washed out the second round.

>"I was looking at the forecast coming into the weekend and it was bad for both days," Neubecker said. "I said, 'We get one day in, we might be lucky.' That was my thought, too."

>"You never know what Mother Nature is going to do tonight," Till said. "So, you go in with, 'Hey, let's play good today and see what happens.'"

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>Till's 69 leads the Senior field by three shots, just a week after a rough 82 to finish up the Medalist on the same course.

>"Today was a completely different story," Till said. "I drove the ball really well and was never in trouble all day," Till said. "My approach shots, especially my sand wedge, were not very good. And fortunately, I chipped in three times today.

>"I was telling my group I can't remember the last time I chipped in once, let alone twice and three times."

>His closest pursuer is Brian Muehlhaus (72) while Lance Ringler and Gary EuDaly each had 74s while Jim Alexander and Gary Blackwell fired 76s.

>In Super Seniors, former champ Neubecker has a narrow one-shot lead with a 1-under 70, getting through a rough patch in the middle of his round.

>Two more past champs on his heels in Rory Brown and Bob Hasty at 71 while Mike Vernon and Gary Blackwell are both tied for fourth at 73.

>"I started out hot and birdied the first two holes and then went six holes in a row with tap-in pars," Neubecker said. "So I was looking good and then I got on 9 and tried to hit a cut into the green and just hit it terribly and had a little pitch shot that I stubbed short and ended up taking a bogey on that hole.

>"It sort of started a few holes that I bogeyed, but I got two more birdies to get me back to 1-under."

>The top 15 in each division qualify for the Championship divisions. The rest are eligible to compete in the regular flights.

>CITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER

>First round scores

>MEN'S: Mitch Oard 67; Sam Wise 71, Logan Vernon 71; Brayden Bunger 73; Ryan Decker 74, Tony Arnett 74; Daniel Melwid 75; Brad Scroggins 76; Tyler Jordan 77, Jim Southern 77; Tim Gillespie 78, Carter Cheaney 78, Jake Cunningham 78; Zayne Dwigans 79, Alec Freund 79; (current cut line); Zach Sykes 80; Jeff Nelson 82, Jeremy Wise 82; Robert Wise 84; Young Oh 85; Bryan Fyalkowski 86, Jackson Storm 86; James Richardson 87; Gerald Sloan 88; Dayton Gobert 92.

>SENIORS: Matt Till 69; Brian Muehlhaus 72; Lance Ringler 74, Gary EuDaly 74; Jim Alexander 76, Brad Leach 76; Chad Osborne 77; Charles Combs 78; Chris Stedman 79; Chuck Vernon 80; Bill Kelson 81; Thomas Gillespie 82; Mike Bruce 83, Ken Wilson 83; Ross Grimes (86); (current cut line); Jason Storm 90; Ed Huff 91; Brian Wise 92; Dan Smith 92.

>SUPER SENIORS: Dan Neubecker 70; Rory Brown 71, Bob Hasty 71; Mike Vernon 73, Gary Blackwell 73; Burke Geene 75; Robin Harper 76; John Kaser 77; Steve Hinds 78; Joe Beane 79; Mike Thomas 80, David Devitt 80; Marty Hutsell 81; Paul Toddy 83; Brett Daniels 87, Brian Werth 87, Phil McCann 87; (current cut line); Jan Bond 88; Sam Janaraweragul 89; Mark Thrasher 109.

>Sunday's tee times

>SENIORS — 7:30 a.m.: Dan Smith, Brian Wise, Ed Huff; 7:40: Jason Storm, Ross Grimes, Ken Wilson, Mike Bruce. 7:50: Thomas Gillespie, Bill Kelson, Cuck Vernon, Chris Stedman. 8:00: Charles Combs, Chad Osborne, Brad Leach, Jim Alexander. 8:10: Gary EuDaly, Lance Ringler, Brian Muehlhaus, Matt Till.

>SUPER SENIORS — 8:30 a.m.: Mark Thrasher, Sam Janaraweragul, Jan Bond, Phil McCann. 8:40: Brian Werth, Brett Daniels, Paul Toddy, Marty Hutsell. 8:50: David Devitt, Mike Thomas, Joe Beane, Steve Hinds. 9:00: John Kasar, Robin Harper, Burke Geene, Gary Blackwell. 9:10: Mike Vernon, Bob Hasty, Rory Brown, Dan Neubecker.

>MEN'S — 9:30: Dayton Gobert, Gerald Sloan, James Richardson. 9:40: Jackson Storm, Bryan Fyalkowski, Young Oh. 9:50: Robert Wise, Jeremy Wise, Jeff Nelson. 10:00: Jake Cunningham, Zayne Dwigans, Alec Freund, Zach Sykes. 10:10: Tyler Jordan, Jim Southern, Tim Gillespie, Carter Cheaney. 10:20: Ryan Decker, Tony Arnett, Daniel Melwid, Brad Scroggins. 10:30: Mitch Oard, Sam Wise, Logan Vernon, Brayden Bunger.

>This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Golfers beat rain in City Qualifier Round 1 at Cascades