Porter Cup not afraid to let amateurs go low with birdies and eagles

A sunny hot May and June meant one thing for the Niagara Falls Country Club: no rough. And some hardpan. Those are two things. It meant that the 6700-yard (more or less) course would be subject to dart after dart from the world’s finest amateur golfers the fourth week of July. And that was just fine for the 49th annual Porter Cup.

Brian Harman took the first-day lead with 64 and has yet to relinquish the top spot. He added a second-round 63 to extend his lead to three, and only a 53rd-hole bogey on Friday kept his lead from reaching five. Recent Porter Cup history shows no evidence of a leader shooting in the 60s on day four, so if Harman is to hold on for victory, he’ll need to get to at least 20-under for the four days. Whom to watch? Lucas Lee for one. Lee has 67-66-64 over the first three days. Billy Horschel for another. Horschel has tossed 60 in US Amateur on-site qualifying, proving that he can go lower than the lowest of the low (sorry, got carried away.) Three bogies on day one, two on day two, and two more on day three suggest that a bogey-free round gets Horschel into the low 60s.

Harman and Horschel with GolfWeek writer Ron Balicki

Anyone else is at least seven back, with no track records to indicate a threat. Unless the final threesome implodes, it’s a three-man race.