Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois
Tuesday, July 27, 2026
Carson Bertagnole grew up and lives in Pinehurst, N.C., home to the famed resort and Course No. 2, one of course architect Donald Ross’ most notable creations.
Tuesday, after having played only three holes in a thunderstorm-shortened practice round the day before, Bertagnole went out and scored 7-under-par 64 on another Ross course, the Beverly Country Club, in the first round of stroke play qualifying in the 124th Western Amateur.
The sophomore at North Carolina said there’s little the two layouts share when it comes to Ross trademarks.
“They’re quite different,” Bertagnole said. “No. 2 is a little wider, no rough and the greens are turtlebacks. Here, the greens almost funnel in to the middle. But you can see the similarities on the green with putting. A lot of the deception is still good.”
The differences and the unfamiliarity didn’t stop him from scattering five birdies and an eagle across his scorecard, even with the round delayed 2 hours 40 minutes to finish the cleanup from Monday’s 2.94 inches of rain, which prompted a rare lift-clean-and place ruling from WGA officials.
“It was great,” Bertagnole said of the conditions. “Greens were a little bumpy but they roll fine. If you hit good putts they roll on line.”
Bertagnole parred the par-5 second but otherwise took advantage of his length, especially with the eagle on the 609-yard par-5 home hole, the ninth of his excursion.
“Hit a good drive into the wind and wasn’t close to reaching it, hit a good 3-wood and had 86 yards,” Bertagnole said. “Hit a low draw wedge that spun back in the hole. Good way to finish.”
Even with players allowed to put ball in hand, scores weren’t astonishingly low. Beverly met the challenge of hosting five of the world’s top 10 amateurs and 66 of the top 100. By the time play stopped because of darkness, Bertagnole stood a stroke ahead of a quartet of players who had finished – Josiah Gilbert of Millbrook, Ala., Joshua Bai of Auckland, New Zealand, recent winner of the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, Arkansas senior Thomas Curry of Texarkana, Ark., and Charlotte senior Seb Cave of Melbourne, England, who scooted in nine minutes before the hooter blew to end play for the day, and 15 minutes before the trio of Malan Potgeiter, Gaven Lane and Erich Fortlage finished 18 in the gloaming at 8:21 p.m.
Forty-two players will finish the first round beginning at 7:10 a.m. and then go right into the on-time second round.
Gilbert, a senior at Auburn, also eagled the 18th but had two bogeys to go with six birdies.
“I played my last 10 holes in 6-under,” Gilbert noted, starting with that eagle on the 18th. “I made a 65-footer and that got me going a little bit.”
Bai, a junior at Florida, was bogey-free with six birdies, including a 4-under 31 on a back nine he’d never seen.
“I hit it really well off the tee, never had to recover from anything,” said Bai, who holed a bunker shot on the par-4 13th for one of his six birdies. “The course is a little quirky in spots, but it’s really fun. There are some short holes where if you hit it in the right spots, you’ve got birdie opportunities.”
Curry was 3-under through two holes courtesy of a birdie on No. 1 and an eagle on the par-5 second, going out in 5-under 31, but after a birdie on the par-3 10th, parred his way around the back nine at dinner hour. Cave went the opposite route, making a birdie at the last to gain a share of second.
Six players are at 5-under, including mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad, who will have three holes to play in the morning.
Around Beverly
Since the Western Amateur was here last in 2014, Beverly’s course has undergone a refurbishment, with thousands of trees removed, the clubhouse was gutted and reimagined inside – and partially outside – in a breathtaking $12.8 million renovation, and after over a century in unincorporated Cook County, the clubhouse and back nine is in Evergreen Park. The front nine has always been in Chicago. … Brandon Holtz of downstate Bloomington scored 4-under 67, as did U.S. Junior runner-up Miles Russell. … Glen Ellyn’s Grant Roscich, owner of the course record on the new Medinah No. 3 (a 61!) is well off the pace at 2-over 73. … Bloodline Dept.: Luke Poulter, son of Ian Poulter, is 3-under with the par-5 18th to play.
– Tim Cronin