Former Sabino standout Brian Kontak beat Ryan Marks of Scottsdale 3 & 2 on Wednesday to advance to the Round of 32 at the 98th Arizona Amateur Championship taking place at the Desert Mountain Outlaw Course in Scottsdale this week.
Kontak is ranked No. 13 in the event and he will be matched up against No. 20 Jimmy Kozikowski of Phoenix at 8:10 a.m. Thursday morning.
Former Rincon/University and Pima standout No. 38 Ben Bradford lost to No. 27 Brad Wayment of Mesa 6 & 4 on Wednesday and former Canyon del Oro and Pima standout No. 46 Andrew Rivas lost to No. 19 Sean O’Donnell of Glendale 3 & 1.
Kontak won the 1989 4A state championship for after shooting a 3-under-par 141 at the Willow Creek Golf Course in Sun City. Kontak also won the 1993 NJCAA championship playing for Scottsdale and he won the 2007 Golf Channel’s Big Break Mesquite challenge.
145 golfers were in the initial field. Rivas shot a 2-over 146 (75-71) to make the Round of 64, Bradford shot a 1-over 145 (73-72) and Kontak shot a 4-under 140 (69-71). Former Williams Field standout Rylan Johnson (Oregon State) claimed the top seed after scoring an 11-under 133 (69-64) in qualifying action.
The top four seeds are still alive in the Round of 32.
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Named one of “Arizona’s Heart & Sol” by KOLD and Casino del Sol, Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and a 2019 AZ Education News recognition. He was a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling and his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is a Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. He earned a Distinguished Service Award from Amphitheater and he was recognized by City Councilman Richard Fimbres. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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