How They're Doing: Minnesotans on Pro Tour Money Lists -- Sept. 8
September 8, 2024
CARROLLTON, Texas -- With three holes to go in the stroke-play portion of the Maridoe Amateur Championship on Wednesday, Frankie Capan was in first place, two shots ahead of Will Holcomb. But what a difference three holes can make.
Holcomb, a Sam Houston University senior from Crockett, Texas, made two birdies and a par on the way in. Capan made two triples and a bogey.
Those birdies capped off a 3-under-par 69 for Holcomb, who completed 54 holes in 218 strokes, and that was good enough to claim medalist honors by three shots over Leo Oyo, who had started the day tied for the lead with Capan. Oyo, a Tokyo native who is in his second year as a sophomore at Oklahoma State -- the 2019-20 season was suspended in March; so it didn't count as a year of eligibility -- shot 75 on Wednesday to finish at 221.
Luke Potter, a 16-year-old prodigy from Encinitas, Calif., posted a 73, which put him at 222, and that gave him sole possession of third place. Earlier this year, Potter became the youngest winner of the Southern California Golf Association Championship. He thereby joined a distinguished list of winners that includes Al Geiberger, Patrick Cantlay -- and Tiger Woods, who won the SCGA title when he was 18.
Capan, the 2020 MGA Player of the Year -- and Minnesota State Amateur champion -- played the first 51 holes at Maridoe Golf Club in 2 over. But Maridoe has narrow fairways, greens that are really difficult to hit, and the penalties for errant shots can be severe. Capan was well aware of that. He had gotten through the first round without much trouble, offsetting two bogeys with four birdies on the way to a 70. But he made two double bogeys in a second-round 76, although that didn't knock him off the top of the leader board. He had suffered another double bogey on the front nine Wednesday.
Nevertheless, he had made three birdies in the first 11 holes and was even for the day through 15. On Monday, Capan had birdied the last three holes. On Tuesday, he made one of his doubles at the 16th, a 561-yard, par 5. On Wednesday the Florida Gulf Coast sophomore got in trouble at No. 16 again, and this time he made a triple. Still reeling from that 8, he proceeded to make a second consecutive triple at the 17th, a 170-yard par 3. When he followed that with a bogey at the 424-yard par-4 18th, it knocked him out of the top 10.
Had he gone bogey-bogey-bogey on those last three holes, he would have tied Oyo for second. Instead, his 79 gave him a 54-hole total of 225, which put him in a tie for 11th place.
But the tournament isn't over. The top 64 players from stroke play qualify for the match-play portion of the tournament, and that begins Thursday.
Capan goes into match play as the No. 12 seed, and he will take on the No. 53 seed, Matthew Sharpstene.
In addition to his victory in the State Amateur this summer, Capan also racked up a second-place finish in the State Open, where he ended up two shots behind University of Minnesota star Angus Flanagan, a junior from Surrey, England. Flanagan is at Maridoe this week, too, and he suffered his own back-nine disaster, but that was on Monday, when he made a quadruple bogey at the 17th on the way to a 79.
He was 4 over after nine holes on Tuesday, and looked as if he might have trouble qualifying for match play. But he salvaged a 76 from that round, and his 77 on Wednesday put his three-day total at 231. He tied for 37th and is the No. 37 seed. His first-round opponent will be Eddie Lai (No. 28).
If they could both get through their first two matches, Capan and Flanagan would play each other Friday afternoon in the Round of 16.
Maridoe Amateur Championship
Nov. 30-Dec. 6
At Maridoe Golf Club
Par 72, 7,291 yards
Carrollton, Texas
Stroke Play ( from which the top 64 qualify for match play, beginning Thursday)
Final Results
1. Will Holcomb, Crockett, Texas 76-73-69--218
2. Leo Oyo, Tokyo 70-76-75--221
3. Luke Potter, Encinitas, Calif. 73-76-73--222
T4. David Puig, La Garriga, Spain 74-78-71--223
T4. Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas 77-76-70--223
T4. Christopher Gotterup, Little Silver, N.J. 75-76-72--223
T7. Michael Thornbjornsen, Wellesley, Mass. 73-74-77--224
T7. Chun An Yu, Taoyuan, Taiwan 75-77-72--224
T7. Parker Coody, Plano, Texas 75-73-76--224
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T7. Michael Thornbjornsen, Wellesley, Mass. 73-74-77--224
T11. Frankie Capan, North Oaks 70-76-79--225
T11. Jonathon Brightwell, Charlotte, N.C. 80-69-76--225
T11. Clayton Feagler, Laguna Niguel, Calif. 79-77-69--225
T11. John Murphy, Kinsale, Ireland 76-75-74--225
T11. Cameron Sisk, San Diego 77-79-69--225
T37. Angus Flanagan, Surrey, England 79-75-77--231
Thursday matches (seeding in parenthesis)
No. 1 tee
9:08 a.m. -- (12) Frankie Capan vs. (53) Matthew Sharpstene
No. 10 tee
9:16 a.m. -- (28) Eddy Lai vs. (37) Angus Flanagan
September 8, 2024
September 1, 2024
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