Brian Morrison and Bob Kaestner waited five years for this. Never had they played as a twosome in a tournament.
Morrison, the Baltimore Country Club head pro for five years, and Kaestner, an amateur and the six-time club champion, linked up yesterday and the result was dazzling.
With Morrison collecting five birdies and Kaestner one, they shot a best-ball 64 to tie for first in the storm-delayed 39th annual Maryland Pro-Am Championship at their home course, site of the 1988 U.S. Women's Open.
When play was suspended because of a thunderstorm, 22 players had not finished their rounds. The tournament is scheduled to be resumed at 7:45 this morning.
Tied with Morrison and Kaestner at 64 were pro Steve Madseand Mike Watson of Lakewood Country Club. Madsen and Watson were on the 18th fairway when they heard Morrison and Kaestner were in with a 64.
"I said, 'Make it, pardner,' " Madsen said.
Watson, who, like Madsen, had three birdies, would have had another birdie if his putt on 18 hadn't lipped out. If it had dropped, they would have had a 63.
Kaestner, who works in NationsBank's mortgage department, said of his partnership with Morrison: "We teamed well together. We've been trying to put this together for five years -- you know, the head pro and club champ. But there was always some sort of conflict, usually involving my work schedule."
Under the best ball format, Morrison and Kaestner hit every green in regulation and, combined, reached 29 of 36.
"We were never in trouble," Kaestner said before hurrying bacto work. "It was a good day."
Morrison and Kaestner readily admitted that their thorough familiarity with the course was a distinct advantage.
"It helps, knowing what club to hit," said Morrison, who is competing for the $1,000 first prize that goes to the leading pro. "We know the breaks on the greens. A. W. Tillinghast [course designer] has a lot of secrets buried in those greens, and there's local knowledge involved in reading them."
For Kaestner, it is a dandy tuneup for a defense of his BaltimorCity Amateur Championship July 29-30. It is his good fortune that the Amateur will be played on the course that he and Morrison blistered yesterday. He has won the Amateur three times.
The father-son combination of Bob and Bobby Bilbo was third ithe clubhouse with a 65. Bob, the head pro at Argyle Country Club, beat his son in last week's Maryland Open, but yesterday )) Bobby had five birdies to Bob's none.
"Dad didn't play as well as I'd have liked him to," said Bobby, a junior-to-be at the University of Maryland. "An official told us at one point that a 64 was already in, so we knew what we were up against. We missed a few putts down the stretch."
The leaders Brian Morrison & Bob Kaestner 64
Steve Madsen & Mike Watson 64
Bob Bilbo & Bobby Bilbo 65
Brian Boltz & Don Meyer 66
Chris Clark & Steve Southern 66
Leighton Thomas & Tom Kennedy 66
Larry Ringer & Tim Meinhardt 66
Barry Fuhrman & Sheldon Kalish 67
Robert Leeman & David Kaplan 67
John Huber & John Leander 67
Robert Fretwell & Tom Winegardner 67
Kent Cayce & Pat Tallent 67
Gary Hurt & Paul Obrecht Jr. 67
Bobby Helfferich & Pat O'Malley 68
John Miller & Howard Swartz 68
Steve Cramer & George Mavrikes 68
Coleman Plecker & Jim Donatelli 68
Mike Versuk & Mark Smith 68
Eric Collins & Michael Steinhardt 69
Parker Parsons & Rusty Ward 69
Stephen Jones & Matt Margolies 69
Richard Rosenthal & Paul Kane 69
Kyle Warfield & Bob Dailey 69
James Joppich & Dick Rattan 69
Scott Edwards & John Finneran 69
Mark Spolarich & Steve Thomas 69
Joe Franz & Michael Ewing 70
Rodney Green & Bob Rehman 70
Pat Owen & Bill Allen 70
Benjamin Erickson & Jim Pelisek 70
Andy Halverson & Joe Lefevor 70
Michael Welsh & Joseph Soliman 70
Mark Weber & Tim Armstrong 70
Michael Napolitano & George Connolly 70
Bobby Ashton & Ken Winfield 70
Roger Brown & Kirk Lombardi 70
Jim Fitzgerald & Hap Holiday 70
Rick Touma & Jim Castagna 70
Chuck Pessagno & Dick Roulette 70
Mike Barillo & Bill Murphy 70
