August 4, 2012 — Choudrant, LA — Dean Mijalis of Shreveport started the second round of the 2012 Louisiana Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship at one-under par, two shots back of the leader, Todd McPherson of New Orleans. Mijalis’s superb two-under par 70 on Saturday puts him at three-under par for the Championship and gives him a two-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round. The challenging Squire Creek course was playing slightly tougher for the Mid-Amateur competitors on Saturday. The 70 from Mijalis was the low score of the day, and there was only one other score under par, a 71 from B.C. Thibeaux of Lafayette.
Mijalis began his round at 12:18 on hole #1. He made six straight pars before making a bogey on the the par 4 7th. Mijalis made the turn at one-over par for the day. The back nine was where Mijalis made his move to the top of the leaderboard. He parred the par 4 10th and the par 5 11th. He then went on to birdie the next two holes, the par 3 12th and the par 4 13th. Mijalis followed those two birdies with a par at #14, but he gave a stroke back with a bogey on the par 4 15th. He bounced back and finished strong with consecutive birdies on the par 3 16th and the par 5 17th. A par on the par 4 18th hole capped off the second round 70.
Mijalis is vying for his first LGA Championship, but in order to win it, he will have to hold off the rest of this stout field that’s comprised of the best Amateur golfers in Louisiana over the age of 25 for 18 more holes, including two-time reigning champion Patrick Christovich of New Orleans. There are ten players within six shots of the lead. Play will begin off the first tee at 7:30 a.m. Paired with Mijalis in the final group are Todd McPherson of New Orleans (-1) and Kenley Jones of Avery Island (E). Sixty-four players made the cut, which was 158.
The Tom Fazio designed Squire Creek course always ranks as one of the top courses in the state by Golf Digest, and is ranked just outside the top 100 in the country by GolfWeek. The course is in pristine condition for this Championship and has drawn rave reviews from the competitors all weekend. The Squire Creek CC course will play to a par of 72 at approximately 7,000 yards.
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