Congressional Country Club

BETHESDA -- Allen Barber of Yorktown, Va., shot a par-matching 72 in the annual Middle Atlantic Amateur championship yesterday to move into the lead after the second round with a total of 148 in the tournament at Congressional Country Club.Tim Landres of Rockville also posted 72, and was a stroke back at 149, followed by Trevor Randolph, a Congressional CC member now living in Houston, who moved into contention with the second-low round of the day, a 71, after opening with a 79.Joe Records of Timonium and Hillendale CC improved the greatest number of strokes when he returned the best score, a 2-under-par 70, for a 36-hole total of 158. His card included six pTC birdies, four on the front nine, as he returned 34-36.

BETHESDA -- A little more than a year ago, Ben Curtis tapped in for bogey on the 18th green at the Tournament Players Club at Avenel to complete a wire-to-wire five-stroke victory in the final Booz Allen Classic. That it happened on a Tuesday morning, with half of the two dozen spectators being members of the grounds crew that had spent the previous night sopping up nearly 5 inches of water from the fairway, added to the funereal atmosphere of the rain-drenched, lame-duck PGA Tour event.

BETHESDA -- Hank Klein and Greg Bales had not played Congressional Country Club before a practice round Thursday, but it seemed to make little difference as they shot 69 on the Blue Course yesterday, the low round of the day, to capture the ninth annual Congressional Fourball Championship.After opening with rounds of 69 and 67, yesterday's score was enough to give the Richmond (Va.) pair a 54-hole total of 205 and a one-stroke margin over Paul Kane-David Passerell of Charlottesville, Va., 70-206.

BETHESDA - Brian Quackenbush and Chris Coyer fired a 6-under-par 65 and opened a five-stroke cushion after the first round of the annual Eastern Four-ball tournament at Congressional Country Club yesterday. Starting at the 10th hole, Quackenbush, a U.S. Amateur contestant and Middle Atlantic Amateur champion from International Country Club in Fairfax, Va., birdied eight straight holes. Then, on the front nine of the 7,245-yard, par-72 course, Quackenbush, 30, birdied Nos. 3, 8 and 9; Coyer took care of Nos. 5 and 6. Tom Riley and Bob Menefee, and George Mavrikes and John Register, each returned at 70, followed by five pairs at 72 in the 61-team field.

BETHESDA -- Complaining about the condition of the greens is almost a constant harangue at the U.S. Open. But it's usually because they're too hard, not too soft.And it usually doesn't happen at a Senior Open.Yet the criticism already has begun at the 16th Senior Open at Congressional Country Club, and the first official tee shot won't be struck until tomorrow.The pot shots began yesterday when two prominent players, Dave Stockton and Hale Irwin, questioned whether the mushy greens were the result of this week's sloppy weather or shoddy construction.

Rick Dewitt stopped a buzz saw with a steamroller, and all four area players advanced through the first round of match play in the 15th annual U.S. Mid-Amateur championship at Caves Valley Golf Club yesterday.Doug Ballenger, the host club champion; Marty West III, from Rockville; Tom Winegardner, from Lothian; and Pat Tallent, a Congressional Country Club member, each produced a victory.Among others in the 32-match round, medalist and former U.S. Amateur champion John Harris stayed alive when opponent Gene Elliott three-putted the 18th, then won it with a 30-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole.

A field that will include 20 of the Senior PGA Tour's top players is scheduled to compete in the first Toyota Invitational golf tournament, Aug. 12-13, at Cattail Creek Country Club in Glenwood.The seniors, to be announced shortly, will be joined by 20 Middle Atlantic PGA pros and their respective club champions at the western Howard County course.Efforts had been ongoing in recent years to bring a Senior Tour event to the region, and Baltimore was on a short list of sites in the running for a regular tournament that eventually was awarded elsewhere and held last September.

CHEVY CHASE -- Deborah Williams won the second extra hole with a conceded birdie to sidetrack defending champion Mallory Crosland and reach the final of the 81st Maryland State Women's Amateur championship at Columbia Country Club yesterday. Medalist Jessica Lewis of the host club dominated the middle of her round with Andrea Kraus and posted a 5 and 3 victory. Williams, 26, a nurse from Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, had two nail-biting matches yesterday. She rallied to win the final hole for a 1-up decision over Jennifer Thompson, from Timonium and Chestnut Ridge Country Club, in the morning, then went 1-up on Crosland at the 17th, only to see the defender save par and win the 18th with a 20-foot putt.

ROCKVILLE -- Ben Brundred III, of Congressional Country Club, made the steadiest round among the leaders stand up for a two-shot victory in the 13th Mid-Amateur Championship at Norbeck Country Club. The Potomac resident finished with par-72 for a 36-hole total of 140.Jim Winner, from Maryland Golf, and Tim Dilli, from Baltimore Country Club, who had started the day tied for second two strokes back of Brundred, each closed with 72 for 142. Larry Storck, of Hayfields Country Club, the defending champion, reeled off a second successive 71 for a share of the runner-up position.

BETHESDA -- Second-round leader Allen Barber grabbed a share of the day's low round, a 1-over-par 73, and opened a four-stroke lead on the field in the annual Middle Atlantic Amateur championship at Congressional Country Club yesterday.Barber, from Yorktown, Va., finished 54 holes at 221, trailed by Congressional CC member Trevor Randolph, from Houston, 75225; Clark Topping, from Columbia, and a summertime qualifier for two USGA championships, 74229; Tim Landres, Rockville, 80229; and Paul Kane, Charlottesville, Va., 74230.