3-time CGA Mid-Am champ Chris Thayer teams with Bryan Rusin to take lead at CGA Four-Ball
By Gary Baines – 4/30/2021
Chris Thayer finished the 2020 CGA championship season on a high note, and now he’s starting 2021 similarly.
After winning his third CGA Mid-Amateur in late September and finishing seventh at the CGA Fall Amateur in early October, the golfer from Golden teamed up with Bryan Rusin of Overland Park Golf Course to grab the lead after Friday’s opening round of the CGA Four-Ball Championship.
Thayer and Rusin fired a bogey-free 8-under-par 64 at Legacy Ridge Golf Course in Westminster to grab a one-stroke lead over two teams, including defending champions Charlie Soule of CommonGround Golf Course and Charlie Sahlman of Cherry Creek Country Club.
Thayer and Rusin played their final 12 holes on Friday in 7 under par in the better-ball format, with Rusin making six birdies during that stretch and Thayer four to supplement the one he carded on the third hole. The pair tied for eighth place at last year’s championship.
Soule and Sahlman, who prevailed in a playoff to win last year’s CGA Four-Ball, matched 65s with Alex Johnson and Nickolas Lamke of CommonGround. Soule and Sahlman birdied their final three holes on Friday, while Johnson and Lamke played their last four holes in 3 under.
Six teams share fourth place at 6-under 66, including three-time champion Steve Irwin of Lakewood Country Club, paired with one-time European Tour event winner Matthew Zions. Also at 66 is two-time CGA Match Play champion Shawn Wills of Wellshire Golf Course and Jesse Piburn of The Club at Ravenna.
The 54-hole tournament, which features 52 two-man teams, will continue through Sunday.
For all the scores from Legacy Ridge, CLICK HERE.