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How They're Doing: Minnesotans on Pro Tour Money Lists -- April 22
April 22, 2024
By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
MINNEAPOLIS – Cruising to a 5 and 3 semifinal victory Wednesday, Paul Simson has a chance to collect his third U.S. Senior Amateur Championship win when he squares off in the finals against Sean Knapp Thursday at The Minikahda Club.
Simson has the opportunity to become just the second player in 63 years to win the championship three times, but Knapp, who has several near misses in his career at USGA events, stands in Simson’s way as he looks to etch his name on the Frederick L. Dold Trophy for the first time Thursday.
Facing Frank Vana, who needed 21 holes to advance to the semifinal round, Simson got out to an early lead like he has for much of the match play portion of the championship this week at Minikahda.
“Well, part of it, you know, he had a long match,” Simson said of Vana’s morning match against John Pierce, which lasted 21 holes, “Sometimes your karma is off after a long match like that, and he’s got to come in here, have a quick lunch, and then get ready to go out again in a hurry, whereas I had, gee whiz, two and a half hours. It can work against you, though. Sometimes you can get stiff.”
Rolling in a birdie from 15 feet on the opening hole Wednesday, Simson drew first blood and after winning the second and fourth holes, quickly built a 3-up lead.
“I start right off with making a spectacular birdie out of the right bunker on the first hole,” Simson said Wednesday. “I didn’t hit a good tee ball and hit a little knock-down 9-iron in there and drained the putt. Then he kind of gave me the second hole, put me 2-up, and I just got ahead, and he was always pressing trying to catch up."
Vana, of Boxford, Mass., countered by winning the par-3 sixth, but Samson continued to apply pressure by winning the ninth and 10th to go 4-up. Taking advantage of a Vana bogey at the 12th, Simson extended his lead to five going into the 14th.
“I got 5-up through 13, and that’s pretty tough. All I have to do is tie two holes coming in—so it was a waiting game after that,” Simson said.
Vana won the 14th with a birdie but would bogey the 15th as Simson closed out the match, 5 and 3, to advance to the finals.
“I’ve been playing pretty well all summer and have been on the periphery of having a really good year,” Simson said. “I’ve done a lot of good things, but it’s just been a little bit off, and it has pretty much come together this week.”
Simson collected the first of his two U.S. Senior Amateur titles in 2010 when he defeated Patrick Tallent, 2 and 1, at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla. That same year Simson also tallied wins at the Canadian Senior Amateur as well as the British Senior Amateur.
He defeated Curtis Skinner, 4 and 3, at the 2012 U.S. Senior Amateur at Mountain Ridge Country Club in New Jersey for his second victory at the event. He competed at the 1998 U.S. Open and finished as low-amateur at the 2001 U.S. Senior Open. He has a number of Carolinas Golf Association titles to his credit. Simson has been knocked out during the Round of 16 in each of the last two U.S. Senior Amateurs.
Though he may be 11 years younger than his opponent, Knapp’s golf resume is equally impressive. A native of Oakmont, Pa., Knapp has competed in more than 40 USGA events and is a two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur semifinalist and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1988 U.S. Amateur.
In 1995 Knapp reached the Round of 16, but would lose to eventual winner, Tiger Woods, 2 and 1. He’s been named the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Player of the Year 14 times and claimed the state’s amateur championship in 1997.
Early Wednesday Knapp bounced Dave Norcar, 2 and 1, to reach the semifinals and had the tall order of facing defending champion, Dave Ryan, who had won 10 consecutive matches coming into the semifinals Wednesday.
Helped by an early birdie and two bogeys by his opponent, Knapp took a 3-up lead after just six holes before Ryan answered by winning the eighth. Ryan’s bogey at the 11th gave Knapp a 3-up lead once again as Knapp would card three bogeys in a span of five holes to watch his lead slip to one with two to play.
Knapp’s approach at the 17th landed beyond the flag in the second cut, but he recovered by chipping within three feet to save par. Ryan had a chance to get a shot back with a shot pitch to the elevated green, but left his shot short into the sand, where he would get up-and-down for par as Knapp took a 1-up lead to the 18th.
Needing to win the final hole to force extra golf Wednesday, Ryan narrowly missed going out of bounds to the right off the final tee, but hit a spectacular recovery shot with a shot at birdie from 15 feet. Knapp found the green in two and lagged his birdie putt within two feet of the final green, conceded by Ryan before Ryan’s putt rolled right of the cup, giving Knapp a 1-up victory.
“I think for most of us, it takes an understanding of how important it is to be here, what’s at hand,” Knapp said of reaching the finals for the first time Wednesday. “The chance may never come again in a lifetime. You can’t take it lightly. It’s so tough. “I found myself saying, ‘Okay, you’re 2-down, you’re 3-down, this is a tough match. It’s okay if you lose because you’ve had a great week,’ and you just cannot do that. You have to fight tooth and nail to the end.”
As the tournament reached its most grueling point with semifinalists playing their seventh round of golf in five days, Knapp insisted his schedule throughout the year has prepared him for this moment.
“I play 36 all the time carrying my bag,” he said. “I have always felt like so many of the important days of the year are 36 holes for an amateur. Not so much for seniors, but I still play quite a bit of regular golf, so to speak, and at the end of the day, I condition myself for it. Sure, you’re going to be tired, but it’s something that I enjoy doing, walking, the whole pace of it, and I think that’s helped me through the way.”
Of playing Simson in the finals Thursday, “I know his game and what to expect,” Knapp said. “It’s 18 holes, it’s a little bit of a sprint, so we’ll get out there and do it. A lot of the pressure is off now. It’s about winning; I grinded my butt off to make it here. I’m excited. This is what we all play for.”
Thursday’s champion will take custody of the Dold Trophy for the upcoming year and will skip to sectional qualifying for the 2018 U.S. Open Championship. The winner receives exemptions into the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship, as well as both the 2018 and 2019 U.S. Amateur Championships.
A spot in the 2018 and 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships is included and, finally, a spot in the next 10 U.S. Senior Amateur Championships.
The championship match of the 63rd U.S. Amateur Championship is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at The Minikahda Club.
THE 63RD U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
THE MINIKAHDA CLUB
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
6,567 YARDS, PAR 72
WEDNESDAY’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS
Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa., def. Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill., 1-up
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C., def. Frank Vana, Boxford, Mass., 5 and 3
WEDNESDAY’S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa., def. David Nocar, Millersville, Md., 2 and 1
Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill., def. Ken Lee, Manchester, Tenn., 2 and 1
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C., def. Matt Sughrue, Arlington, Va., 5 and 4
Frank Vana, Boxford, Mass., def. John Pierce, San Antonio, Texas, 21 holes
TUESDAY’S ROUND OF 16 RESULTS
David Nocar, Millersville, Md., def. John McClure, Los Angeles, Calif., 2-up
Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa., def. Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga., 2 and 1
Ken Lee, Manchester, Tenn., def. Bob Cooper, Monroe, La., 6 and 5
Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill., def. Michael Hughett, Tulsa, Okla., 2 and 1
Matt Sughrue, Arlington, Va., def. Keith Decker, Martinsville, Va., 3 and 2
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C., def. Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa., 6 and 4
John Pierce, San Antonio, Texas, def. Russ Perry, Winston Salem, N.C., 4 and 3
TUESDAY’S ROUND OF 32 RESULTS
John McClure, Los Angeles, Calif., def. David Brown, Ligonier, Pa., 3 and 2
David Nocar, Millersville, Md., def. Claud Cooper, Birmingham, Ala., 4 and 3
Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa., def. Scott Thomas, Chesterfield, Mo., 6 and 5
Doug Hazel, Savannah, Ga., def. Ned Zachar, Bedford, N.Y., 20 holes
Bob Cooper, Monroe, La., def. Craig Steinberg, Agoura Hills, Calif., 1-up
Ken Lee, Manchester, Tenn., def. Mark Coward, Paradise Valley, Ariz., 4 and 3
Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill., def. Ronald LaVerdiere, Amherst, Mass., 2 and 1
Michael Hughett, Tulsa, Okla., def. James Pearson, Charlotte, N.C., 4 and 3
Matthew Sughrue, Arlington, Va., def. John Fisher, Collierville, Tenn., 4 and 3
Keith Decker, Martinsville, Va., def. Gene Elliot, West Des Moines, Iowa, 1-up
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C., def. John Hornbeck, Saratoga, N.Y., 1-up
Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa., def. Don Donatoni, Malvern, Pa., 5 and 4
John Pierce, San Antonio, Texas, def. Mitch Wilson, Portage, Mich., 20 holes
Russ Perry, Winston Salem, N.C., def. Bob Royak, Alpharetta, Ga., 2 and 1
Frank Vana, Boxford, Mass., def. Bryan Norton, Mission Hills, Kan., 1-up
Alan Hill, Spring Branch, Texas, def. Chris Hartenstein, Austin, Texas, 4 and 3
For complete tournament results go to: http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2017/u-s--senior-amateur-/scoring.html
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