Jeff Lim Sharpe, enjoying his best stretch of competitive golf, demolished a strong 61-player field in the eighth annual Amateur Public Links championship of the Maryland State Golf Association at Greystone Golf Course in White Hall in northern Baltimore County. Lim-Sharpe finished 70-67--137 to lead runner-up Robert Balaban, Bethesda. by a record seven shots. Balaban, the morning leader with 69. posted an afternoon 75 for 144 on a hot, humid summer day.
Lim-Sharpe went to the third round of last month's MSGA Amateur before losing to eventual champion Sean Bosdosh and later earned one of two available places in sectional qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Public Links championship where he failed to advance to match play.
His morning round was marred by a double-bogey. but he finished birdie-birdie for a back-nine 33. In the afternoon, he started on No. 10, turned in 34, then took charge with birdies at Nos. 3-4-5, all on putts of about 20 feet. I've been working hard on my game overall, but especially the mental part. I'm trying to do a better job of focusing," he said.
Defending champion Joseph Kim, from Rockville and Temple University, finished third, 74-71--145, followed by three at 147 -- 2008 champion Ted Coon, 72-75; Steven Ligi, play-off loser with Dirk Schultz in the MSGA Pro-Am championship two days earlier, and Peter Betzold, Bel Air, who recovered from a morning 81 to shoot 66. Betzold's afternoon tour included six birdies, five of them on his first (front) nine as he ended 32-34.
- Reported by John Stewart from Greystone
