Like 17 other players in the field, Texan John Peterson reported to work early today to finish up his first round of play. Things, however, were slow getting started as fog once again delayed play until 9:30AM, two hours later than the scheduled start time. Peterson made the most of his two remaining holes, posting birdie and par to finish his first round at 4 under par 67. This was good enough to give Peterson a one shot lead over Matt Parziale of Massachusetts, David Markle of Ontario and South Africa’s Dillan Frittelli, who was also forced to finish his 1st round on Saturday morning.

The second round of play, originally scheduled to start at 8:30AM, finally got underway at 10:00AM. Play continued until 5:19PM when play was suspended due to thunderstorms in the area. Severe weather conditions persisted to the point where players were unable to resume play on Saturday. With less than half of the groups in the field having completed play, the decision was made to cancel round 2, meaning that this year’s event will now be a 36-hole championship. Players will start play in the final round at 8:30AM. A split-tee start will be used with players teeing off on the 1st and 10th holes.

The final pairing will tee off at 10:54AM on the first hole and it will include Peterson, Markle and Parziale. Peterson was the runner-up at this year’s Texas Amateur, which earned him an invite to play in the Barrett Amateur. David Markle of Shelburne, Ontario currently attends Kent State University and he is ranked 27th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, making him the highest ranked Canadian in the rankings. Matt Parziale of Brockton, Massachusetts won the 2007 NCCAA National Championship while playing at Southeastern University

In the second group are Frittelli, the 2007 World Junior Golf Champion, Anthony Warren of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and Brad Larente of Cambridge, Ontario. Frittelli will attend the University of Texas for his freshman year in the fall. The top New Brunswicker in the field is Jason Roach of Quispamsis with his round of 70, leaving him in a tie for 7th. Also at -1 (70) is Jacques Blaauw of South Africa and Ryan Chin of Toronto, Ontario.

The Barrett Amateur Championship is the highest ranked Canadian event on the World Amateur Golf Rankings. The Barrett is also a counting event for Golf Week’s Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings. The champion of the Barrett Amateur will earn an exemption into the Canadian Amateur Championship scheduled for August 10th-14th, 2008 at the Paradise Canyon Golf Resort in Lethbridge, Alberta.

The 8th playing of the Barrett Amateur has garnered attention for its strong field. This year’s Barrett carries a field of 100 golfers, the largest field the event has ever had. Players in the field come from 6 different countries – South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Honduras, the United States and Canada. The US players in the field come from 5 different States (Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Texas) while 8 of Canada’s 10 provinces are represented.