Warian Is Medalist & Gophers Are Team Champs at Highland Meadows
April 16, 2024
By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
MINNEAPOLIS – Posting a 2-under par 70 Sunday, David Brown paced the field for the second consecutive day, earning medalist honors at 6-under par 138 heading into the opening round of match play at the 63rd U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at The Minikahda Club.
Brown earned a share of the lead with Matthew Sughrue after the opening round Saturday as both golfers finished with a 4-under par 68. Turning at 1-under for the round Sunday, Brown created slight separation by carding two birdies and a bogey over the final nine to finish two shots better than Sughrue, Mitch Wilson and Chuck Palmer, who finished tied for second at 4-under par 140.
“I was just trying to keep it between the guardrails today and not do anything too stupid,” Brown said. “I was rather conservative—left a few putts short, but made a few good putts. It was rather uneventful today.”
Brown will be the top seed when match play gets underway Monday, but said he wasn’t necessarily concerned about where he finished inside the top-64.
“You’ve got to put that all behind you and tell yourself it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “There is going to be 64 guys out here tomorrow and anyone can win and anyone can lose.”
Brown, Ligonier, Pa., birdied his first hole Sunday, but drew even by taking bogey at the second. Trading a birdie at the fourth with a bogey at the seventh, Brown remained even for the day before sinking his birdie opportunity at the par-3 eighth hole, playing one of the most difficult holes on the course.
Falling back to even for the round with a bogey at the 13th, Brown bounced back by sinking his birdie look at the 14th and again at the 17th to finish the day with a 2-under par 70 to earn medalist honors at 6-under par 138.
Former University of Minnesota golfer Jeff Teal led the way for Minnesotans in the field this week, carding a 76 during the first round Saturday, but a rough patch on his back nine during the second round Sunday led to a round of 80 to put Teal at 156, falling out of contention for match play.
“Nothing really went right today. I actually hit it not too bad, I just couldn’t make a putt,” Teal said Sunday. “Especially on my front nine where I wanted to get off to a good start. I started with a bogey and then had three or four good looks and didn’t make any of them—too many bogeys.
“It’s a first-class event and ran great. The course was awesome—playing Minikahda four days in a row is good stuff. Meeting players from around the country and playing with some good guys and it's fun compare where you’re at.”
Duluth, Minn., native David Whittaker fired a round of 78 Sunday following a round of 81 to open the championship Saturday as Whittaker missed the cut for match play by seven shots.
Whittaker took up the game when he was younger but didn’t start playing competitively until his mid 40’s. Qualifying for a USGA event quickly became a goal of his.
“Even though I’m probably getting up there in years, I’d like to come back,” he said Sunday. “I didn’t think I had a shot at it. It was a wonderful tournament. The support was fantastic and we felt like members of the club.
“I like the direction of my golf game and I’m not going to get obsessive about it. I guess gratitude is the biggest takeaway for me and I’d like to get back here.”
David Brown, Minnetonka, Minn., improved on his opening-round of 82 Saturday by posting a 6-over par 78 Sunday, missing the cut by eight strokes.
“I didn’t putt as well as I normally do and yesterday I got off to a shaky start. After the first nine holes I played okay, with the exception that I didn’t make the putts I normally make,” Brown said Sunday. “There are areas of my game that I can work on and I played with guys this week that seemed like they were well-oiled machines. It was fun to compare myself to the high-quality and depth of the field.
“It was a wonderful experience and a pleasure to play in a tournament that’s so well organized. You can feel the prestige associated with this type of tournament. I’ve never really pursued playing in a U.S. Senior Amateur until this year, and as much fun as I had, I’d like to do it again.”
Randall Garber, Lakeville, Minn., posted back-to-back rounds of 84 to finish the first two rounds of stroke play at 168 along with John Barry, Lakeville, Minn., who carded rounds of 85 and 83, respectively.
A playoff between 12 players for the final seven spots for match play will begin at 7 a.m. Monday at The Minikahda Club, followed by the start of the Round of 64 at 8 a.m.
THE 63RD U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
THE MINIKAHDA CLUB
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
6,621 YARDS, PAR 72
SUNDAY’S STROKE PLAY RESULTS
1. David Brown, Ligonier, Pa., 68-70—138
T2. Matthew Sughrue, Arlington, Va., 68-72—140
T2. Mitch Wilson, Portage, Mich., 72-68—140
T2. Chuck Palmer, Dallas, Texas, 72-68—140
T5. Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill., 73-69—142
T5. Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn., 70-72—142
7. Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C., 73-70—143
T8. Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn., 74-70—144
T8. Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga., 74-70—144
T8. Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa., 72-72—144
T8. Brady Exber, Las Vegas, Nev., 71-73—144
MC. JEFF TEAL, EXCELSIOR, MINN., 76-80—156
MC. DAVID WHITTAKER, DULUTH, MINN., 81-78—159
MC. DAVID BROWN, MINNETONKA, MINN., 82-78—160
MC. RANDALL GARBER, LAKEVILLE, MINN., 84-84—168
MC. JOHN BARRY, LAKEVILLE, MINN., 85-83—168
For complete tournament results go to: www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2017/u-s--senior-amateur-/scoring.html
April 9, 2024
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