OHIO AMATEUR Newlyweds team to take early lead
Steve Paramore shot 68 with his wife, also his caddie, by his side.
AURORA (AP) -- Steve Paramore's caddie is his new bride, Kerre. She was particularly talkative in Tuesday's opening round of the Ohio Amateur.
"If I hit a good shot, she says, 'Good shot.' If I hit a bad shot, she doesn't say anything," Paramore laughed after shooting a 3-under-par 68 to take a one-shot lead over Duke senior-to-be David French of Upper Arlington.
Kerre carries the bag but doesn't offer yardage or advice. She's not adept at reading greens.
However, "I can read him," she said with a grin, referring to her husband. "I know when I can talk to him and when not to."
She had a lot to talk about as Paramore put together a five-birdie, two-bogey round at the Aurora Golf and Country Club.
"We're treating this like it's a second honeymoon," said Paramore, who was married on June 28.
Challenge
The course might have been the big winner on the four-round tournament's opening day. Most of the holes require a player to work the ball off the tee -- something that was nearly impossible in the swirling, unpredictable winds that hampered the players all day.
Three of the 140 players who were scheduled to start broke par. The average score was 79.5. Half the field didn't break 80.
The Paramores returned just in time from their honeymoon in San Diego.
The 21-year-old Paramore, a former Florida Southern golfer, made the turn in even-par after starting on the 10th tee. He had birdies at the par-4 first, then birdied the sixth and seventh.
Paramore, recently selected as the women's golf coach at Ashland University, is an Ashland native.
Before he teed off, he talked briefly to a friend, Matt Marino, an Ashland U. golfer who was the only person to match par from the morning tee times.
"Before the round started, I talked to Matt and he said how tough the course was out there," Paramore said. "We talked about it. About all you had to do was to just put the ball in the right spot. As long as you're in the fairway, you'll be OK. The thing that will bite you is a [bad] tee ball."
On the road
French played in the Eastern Amateur last weekend, then rushed back to Ohio on Sunday night before driving to the course early Monday for a practice round.
Despite a glittering career in high school and junior golf, French never has played in the Ohio Amateur.
"This is very important to me," he said. "This is probably the fourth or fifth time I've qualified for the amateur, but the only time I've played in it. It seemed as if I was always playing in junior tournaments instead of here because that's what appealed to coaches."
French was even through his first nine holes, then birdied the 13th and 16th to get to 69.
David Allan of Terrace Park shot a 70 to stand alone in third, two shots behind Paramore, with Marino next at 71.
Sylvania's Kevin Kornowa kept alive his hopes of defending his title, shooting a 72.
"I actually played pretty well, but I had four three-putts," he said. "I missed a 3-footer for birdie at No. 9 and I drove the par-4 sixth hole and then three-putted from 12 feet for par.
"Still, I'm not disappointed. After I saw the scores from the morning groups, I knew even-par would be a good score. There's still three rounds left. It's just a matter of hitting some putts tomorrow."