Page 4 - The National Invitational Championship V2

be needed on a course that was gaining the reputation of being stingy
with aces (holes-in-one). As the day progressed and the temperature
rose, the carpets started to change. The roll of the carpets shifted

slightly, but just enough to create lip-outs, with what would have been a
perfect putt 45 minutes earlier. Not all the holes changed, but just
enough to allow the players that were aware of the change to make the
adjustment as the rounds progressed. The players leading after the first
round were Sid Davis and Chuck Palm. Palm played amateur last year,

and with a successful return
after a lengthy absence,
turned professional this year.
Davis, from Kingsport, has

held the year’s lowest stroke
average on the Kingsport
course six out of the last
seven years. He is also very
familiar with major

tournament competition,
previously winning the
National Championship. Both
players opened with an 11-

under par 25, but Davis was
the only player to maintain
the pace after two rounds by

Sid Davis shooting another 25 and
leading Jeff Studer by 4

strokes. Davis would extend his lead to five strokes by the end of the
day.

Typically, with a two-day tournament, players within 7 strokes would be

considered to still be in contention for the title. However, with a
challenging course like Kingsport, consistently shooting low rounds
would seem unlikely. Davis was aware of this as he slept on his 5-stroke
lead. He was also aware that if he averaged 6-under per round on day 2,