Savage still in hunt at club pro championship

Cortland Country Club head pro Eric Manning recorded his third consecutive solid round Tuesday in the PGA Professional National Championship in his attempt to return to the PGA Championship for the second straight year.

Manning added an even-par 71 to earlier rounds of 71-72 to stand tied for 36th place in the tournament being played at the Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. At the end of Wednesday's final round, the top 20 players will earn berths in the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. Manning stands only two strokes out of the top 20.

Last year, Manning achieved a lifelong goal of playing in a major championship by qualifying for the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills after finishing tied for 15th in the PPNC.

Another Central New York PGA member attempting to make it to Hazeltine is Kanon Valley assistant pro Kevin Savage.

He saw a beautiful start to his round Wednesday -- three birdies in the first seven holes -- get derailed by a string of bogeys, and he ended with a 77. That dropped him into a tie for 63rd. Savage was tied for second after a first-round 67 and tied for eighth after Monday's 73.

Still, he said a round in the 60's Wednesday would give him a chance to move back into the top 20. "I just have to go out there tomorrow and give it my best shot," said Savage, who had to receive a shot of a different sort just to compete this week.

During practice rounds, Savage, who has rheumatoid arthritis, suffered a flareup, causing his left hand to swell severely. It made it difficult to hold the club, and the night before the tournament he said he wasn't sure he would be able to play. He obtained some relief after his first round when doctors gave him a steroid shot to reduce the inflammation.

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