With today's final 18 holes remaining at Quail Hollow in Concord Township there are 11 players within five shots of leader Dennis Miller.
CONCORD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The drive to the wire at the Ohio Open resembles downtown commuters rushing to catch a train out of Tower City Center.
The leaderboard at Quail Hollow Country Club is so crowded you could almost visualize guys trying to elbow their way to the top, or at least to the cut at 2-over 144. The field was trimmed to the top 50 scores and ties, resulting in 52 players making the cut.
With today's final 18 holes remaining on the Devlin Course there are 11 players within five shots of leader Dennis Miller, the pro at Mill Creek Park Golf Course.
Miller, the 1996 champion from Canfield, maintained his first-round lead with a 2-under 69 on Tuesday on the Devlin Course for a 54-hole total of 8 under. Defending champion Vaughn Snyder reeled off 10 birdies en route to a 6-under 65 and trails by one, sharing second place with New Albany pro Bob Sowards.
"It was a pretty stress-free round," said Miller, who had 13 two-putt greens. "For most of the day I just got the ball on the green, lagged it up there and two-putted."
Third place had an Akron flavor as it was shared by Firestone pro David Champagne and former University of Akron player Garrett Frank, now competing on the Canadian Tour. Frank shot a tournament-best 7-under 64, also on the Devlin Course, to get into contention at 6 under.
Snyder, 23, won this tournament last year in his first professional start. He has since played in 21 events on the FuZion Tour with nine top-10 finishes. He is attempting to become the Open's first repeat winner since Bob Wynn won three in a row (1970-72).
That was of no consequence to Snyder, who played two years at Akron before transferring to Ohio State.
"People talk about defending, but it's a new year and a new championship," said Snyder, who opened with a 70. "I just want to play to the best of my abilities and not make any mistakes."
His 10 birdies -- six of which came on the back nine -- were accompanied by four bogeys. He missed three putts of about four feet and three-putted the 550-yard third hole for par.
"I basically gave away four shots," he said.
Some of the putts he made were round-makers. Starting on the back side, he rolled in a 20-footer on the 10th, a 15-footer on the 11th, a 15-footer on the 15th, a 40-footer on the 16th and a 20-footer on the 18th.
Those within striking distance includes three amateurs -- Rocky River's Matt Gerard (67-72), a junior at St. Ignatius; Dublin's Michael Cress (68-71); and Michael Shonk of Columbus (68-71).
Three-time champ Rob Moss (67-71) and former St. Vincent-St, Mary standout Brian Unk (69-69) also are in contention.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: trogers@plaind.com, 216-999-5169