Holcomb Is Maridoe Medalist; Triples Drop Capan to T11

National

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