Donatoni overcomes injury thoughts, grabs #GAPSrAm Supers lead

  MALVERN, Pa. — Ever since a freak injury in last year’s Senior Amateur Championship, damaging thoughts have lingered in Don Donatoni’s mind during his pregame routine. But Tuesday, as can be expected on his home track, Donatoni bloodied the spirits of his Super-Senior competition. | Round 2 tee times | Scorecards | Video recap |
History | Senior/Super-Senior Silver Cross Award standings |

  Donatoni fired a 1-under-par 70 at White Manor Country Club (par 71, 6,053 yards), grabbing the Day 1 Super-Senior lead in the 46th Senior Amateur. He’ll head into tomorrow’s final round with a five-shot lead over Talamore Country Club’s Michael Rose (4-over 74).

  The Association’s reigning three-time Super-Senior Player of the Year will now shift his focus to closing out another GAP Major overnight, while also trying to stay unscathed.

  Heading into Day 2 last year at The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale, Donatoni was tied with Little Mill Country Club’s Robert Lodovici at 3-over par. Then a freak accident occurred on the practice range. Donatoni began his warm ups, swinging with two clubs in hand. One of his sticks caught a piece of the artificial turf and twisted the club in his hand.

  The result? Bleeding throughout the final round followed by five post-game stiches in the emergency room.

  “I’ll never forget it. I still warm up the same way, but I stay away from the turf now. I don’t want anything sticking and I swing about six inches off the ground,” said Donatoni, who holds 31 overall club championships (19 men’s, 12 seniors) at White Manor. “I think about it all the time.”

  While those bad thoughts still loomed today, they didn’t seem to make much of an impact past Donatoni’s three-putt bogey to start on No. 1 (par 4, 405 yards). Donatoni would then go 4 under over the next eight holes.

  A low-flighted 6-iron rolled up to three feet on No. 5 (par 4, 369 yards) to ignite the hot streak. Donatoni muscled his second shot to the fringe on the par-5, 499-yard 6th. His preceding chip stopped eight feet from the cup, leaving Donatoni with a left-to-right slider for birdie. That fell to get him in red numbers. A hybrid-wedge sequence then led to a two-foot tap in on No. 7 (par 4, 292 yards). He finished that stretch off with a jarred birdie on No. 9 (par 4, 361 yards). Wanting to leave his approach below the hole, Donatoni chose wedge from 113 yards out. He “struck the birdie look just right,” draining it from 10 feet.

  “I was 3 under making the turn, so I was feeling good out there. Coming off the 9th, I was in a comfortable spot heading into the back nine,” he said.

  Although bogeys arrived on Nos. 15 (par 4, 305 yards) and 18 (par 4, 347 yards), Donatoni managed to finish for good in red numbers. Sleeping on such a demanding lead is something Donatoni has plenty of experience in.

  “Tonight I’ll just go home and not talk about it, at all, with anybody. I know my son will call, because he really enjoys the game, but that’ll be a short conversation,” he said. “I’ll just think about the good shots I made today, and think about some of the mistakes I made to see if I can improve on those.”

  It’s now Donatoni’s title to lose heading into tomorrow. That’s not something that scares him, though.

  “Right now, I’m playing as well as I have in a while,” said Donatoni, who is coming off a win in the Super Senior North & South Amateur at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club. “That was a huge win for me. I finally shot my age [in the final round] to come from eight back, and that was probably the biggest one I’ve ever had. So today was mostly carry over, and that’s because my irons which have been really consistent. If that keeps up, I’ll have a good chance to hit a lot of greens [tomorrow] and hopefully the putter is working.”

  Donatoni will be joined by Rose and Medford Village Country Club’s Dave Jacobson in tomorrow’s final pairing at 9:20 a.m.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 151 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.