Tag: Pinehurst No. 2

Putter Boy trophy in hand, Amanda Sambach embarks on another week at Pinehurst

Amanda Sambach won the North & South Junior just days before teeing it up at the North & South Women’s Amateur.

Early this week at Pinehurst, Amanda Sambach will get a window into what it’s like to play at the University of Virginia. The 17-year-old is playing a practice round for the North & South Women’s Amateur with some of her future Hoos teammates: current junior Riley Smyth, incoming freshman Jennifer Cleary and fellow commit Megan Propeck.

Not that Sambach, a high school junior from Davidson, North Carolina, doesn’t have anything to offer in that group. After all, she’s just a few days removed from claiming the North & South Girls’ Junior title on July 8.

The Sambachs rent a home off Pinehurst No. 3 so she’s familiar with the place, but this summer marked her first time playing the North & South Junior. She had played Pinehurst No. 2 in the World Van Horn Cup, a one-day best-ball tournament for top U.S. Kids Golf competitors. That seems like forever ago to Sambach. She was 11 then.

Sambach won the North & South Junior with deep breaths and strong wedge play.

Scores: North & South Junior

“My first round wasn’t that solid on No. 2. I wasn’t hitting my driver very well for a stretch of holes,” she said of consecutive bogeys at Nos. 11-13. “I was getting a little anxious at that point but I managed to bring it back together and obviously I shot a pretty good score for the first day so I didn’t completely shoot out of it.”

She followed that 74 with rounds of 69-68 on No. 6 and at 5 under, had a four-shot cushion on runner-up Sydney Yermish.

Amanda Sambach at Pinehurst. (Photo submitted)

Sambach felt confident in her wedges going into the tournament, but she still realized she had to keep it in the fairway. She tried to keep her coaches’ voices in her head as she played.

Over the past year and a half, Sambach has won the Peggy Kirk Bell Junior Tour Invitational, AJGA Girls Championship, Callaway Golf Ollie Schniederjans Junior Classic and the Rolex Tournament of Champions. The iconic Putter Boy trophy she took home from the North & South Junior is in good company.

It’s true that the majority of Sambach’s resume consists of junior golf highlights. And even from here, her late-summer season includes includes two more major AJGA starts – the Rolex Girls and the AJGA Girls.

Sandwiched amid all the junior titles, however, is an 11th-place finish on the Symetra Tour. Sambach gained an exemption to last year’s Symetra Classic at River Run Country Club in Davidson, her home course. She fired rounds of 67-74-74 and nearly earned a top 10.

“My main takeaway was just the fact that I could hang in there with them,” she said.

Cydney Clanton, a former Auburn standout who earned her first LPGA victory in 2019 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, was another hometown player in the field. People tell Sambach her game is similar to Clanton’s in that her ballstriking is so strong.

“She gave me the advice to just focus on a lot of short game,” Sambach said of getting to know the LPGA player.

The next natural progression for Sambach’s game is to step on up to amateur events. If not for the pandemic, she would have played the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April. She was initially crushed over that event being canceled, but the silver lining is in the fact that the invitation is still on the table for 2021.

“I’m very, very happy to hear about that,” Sambach said with audible relief in her voice. It will be her first time to Augusta.

Amanda Sambach during the North & South Junior. (Photo submitted)

At No. 28 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Sambach easily earned an exemption into next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur. The USGA made room for the top 75 in that ranking. This will be her first time playing the event. She’d never even tried to qualify for it.

Even as she crosses the threshold from junior golf into something bigger, Sambach’s goals for the next year are less about results and more about other aspects of this game. Each year, the AJGA selects one male and one female player to serve as player representatives. She and Jackson Van Paris are serving in those roles in 2020.

It’s a way to enjoy the journey and expand her golf circle.

“Going to these tournaments and meeting people is one of my favorite things,” she said.

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Tyler Strafaci on North & South title: ‘It’s been my dream since I was a kid’

Finally, there’s another Strafaci on the wall at Pinehurst after Tyler Strafaci cruised through the match-play bracket at Pinehurst No. 2.

At one point, Tyler Strafaci wondered if he’d ever have his day at Pinehurst – like his grandfather did all those years ago.

Strafaci, 21, has been playing the North & South since he was a junior in high school. Until last week, he was 0-for-4. When there’s history on the line, there’s also pressure.

Frank Strafaci, Tyler’s grandfather, won the North & South in 1938 and 1939, the same decade in which he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links (1935) and was ninth at the U.S. Open (1937). He was a multiple-time champion of the Metropolitan Golf Association Amateur and Long Island Amateur, too.

Finally, there’s another Strafaci on the winner’s wall at Pinehurst after Tyler cruised through the 32-man match-play bracket at Pinehurst No. 2 to come up with a win on July 4.

The North & South title kicked off a solid stretch of golf for the remainder of the summer as Tyler Strafaci heads to the Palmetto Amateur this week, then on to the Sunnehanna Amateur, Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur. He’ll return to Georgia Tech for a fifth year this fall.

Strafaci gave Golfweek some insight on his North & South win recently, and what it means for his family. (His answers below have been edited slightly for brevity.)

What do you know about the way your grandpa played the game? What have you been told?

The stuff I’ve heard from my father and people that knew him personally, the one thing that my dad said stuck out about him was his short game, mostly his bunker play. It’s a little random but  my dad always talked about how good of a bunker player he was and he had such good hands around the green, stuff like that. One of the things that everyone has said about my grandfather was he was the toughest competitor they’ve ever met. He kind of came from a very poor background, he was an Italian immigrant, came to America trying to make a name for himself. He was very gritty, very hard-working and people respected him. I’ve never met someone that didn’t say he was a great human being.

Arnold Palmer wrote something in his book about his match at the U.S. Am that he won. I’ve read it – my dad showed me – it’s pretty cool. He talked about how my grandfather was the toughest match that he played in amateur golf and the U.S. Am. … That’s what kind of what stuck to me was how much of a competitor he was.

And if someone were to describe your swing and the way you play, what would they say?

Ironically enough, everyone always talks about my bunker game. I give everyone on my team lessons about that but I would say the one thing about my game that’s always been my strength is my iron play. My iron play is very solid, I work really hard on it and it’s at a level where I can compete very highly. My course management is really good. I know how to get my way around the course.

I feel like I’m very consistent because I’m a good iron player and I play the courses how they should be played. Sometimes I don’t overpower them. I’m relatively long but I try to play the course conservative aggressive and I give myself a lot of chances for birdie during the round. I make a lot of birdies and don’t make a lot of bogeys.

What part of your game did you think Pinehurst No. 2 put the most stress on? Or what part of your game helped you win there?

I would describe No. 2 very much as a second-shot golf course. I think it really fit my game to my irons. I would say I drove the ball, for the most part, not great during the whole week. I hit driver pretty much every hole in match play. The opportunities I had from the fairway with my irons, I took advantage and hit them really close.

Pinehurst No. 2 just stresses shots around the greens. If you don’t hit it in the right spot, it will kind of funnel off into the wrong spot so you really can’t make par. That really fit my game this week. In years past, I haven’t really hit the ball well on the course.

What was the first thing your dad said to you after you won at Pinehurst?

All I remember from after I made my putt, I looked over to my dad and he had his hands raised and he had tears coming down his face. He hugged me and he said, ‘You did it, bud. Just yourself, you did it. You worked so hard for this opportunity and you did it. Grandpa Frank would be proud.’ I remember looking out of the corner of my eye as I was walking off the green to see my friends and my dad pointed up to the sky with both of his hands. You could tell this meant a lot to him.

He played in the North & South a lot but he’s told me in the past, with his dad winning it put a lot of pressure on him and he felt like he never performed to the ability he could in the tournament. For the first couple years playing Pinehurst, I felt pressure too. … This year, I’ve gotten pretty comfortable in my own skin the last year or so and kind of gotten my own identity.

Where does the North & South rank on your all-time golf accomplishments?

I think I’d put it ahead of making the U.S. Open at Shinnecock only because that was really cool in the moment, being a teenager playing the national championship, but I’ve been so close to winning the last couple years and I’ve been getting really frustrated and kind of questioning what I’ve been doing. I’ve always worked hard but just not winning for three years has put a toll on me. Thinking, ‘When am I going to win again? When is it going to be my time?’ … After this, it really shows that all the hard work I’ve put in, worked my butt off, all the late hours putting and chipping and doing competitions with my teammates has all paid off. It was more satisfying to see all that groundwork. And to do it at the North & South. It’s been my dream since I was a kid to win that golf tournament.

Considering that your grandfather never made a Walker Cup team, how big of a goal is that for you?

He had a really good chance that year that he finished (ninth) in the U.S. Open, won the North & South and won the Met Am. He was regarded as the best amateur player in that four-to-five-year stretch in the world. The fact that he didn’t make it, it really upset my grandfather. Kind of put a bad taste in his mouth. My dad told me it took him a very long time to get over the fact that he wasn’t picked. I’m sure the other people were very deserving, but my grandfather took it to heart.

Ever since hearing that, it’s been a goal to be the first Strafaci to make the Walker Cup. I had a really good chance at making it last year. I made the practice squad, I just didn’t play great over the summer. Obviously Seminole, it’s a dream to play there in my home state, an hour away from my house but I’m just focused on, for the next year, getting better, working hard, competing in tournaments and winning a national championship. If I get picked by the committee, I get picked. If I don’t, I won’t be too upset. The only thing I can control is just doing my best and let the stuff play out.

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Pinehurst history lesson: Tyler Strafaci adds another North & South title to the family collection

Tyler Strafaci and grandfather Frank Strafaci become the first grandfather-grandson duo to win the North & South Amateur.

The last two men left standing at the North & South Amateur on Saturday afternoon each has a certain history at Pinehurst. William Holcomb V produces magic there, having played his way into the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals at Pinehurst No. 2 less than a year ago. Tyler Strafaci, on the other hand, had another chapter of family history to write.

In the end, the iconic Putter Boy trophy went to Strafaci, a 21-year-old who recently finished his fourth year at Georgia Tech. By winning the long-running amateur event, he and grandfather Frank Strafaci become the first grandfather-grandson duo to pull off such a feat. Both men now have the honor of having their name in clubhouse history hall. They’ll both have a locker, too.

Scores: North & South Amateur

“I first came to Pinehurst when I was a little kid, and mom and dad and would always tell me what my grandfather thought of Pinehurst,” Strafaci told Pinehurst writer Alex Podlogar. “The first thing we would do, my dad would walk me into the locker room and we’d find Grandpa’s locker. We’d sit in there and look at all of the names.

“I never thought that this day would ever come.”

Frank Strafaci, an accomplished amateur from New York, won the North & South Amateur in 1938 and 1939. It was the same decade he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links (1935) and was ninth at the U.S. Open (1937). He was a multiple-time champion of the Metropolitan Golf Association Amateur and Long Island Amateur, too.

Tyler Strafaci, who grew up in Davie, Florida, never met his grandfather, who passed away in 1988, 10 years before he was born.

At last year’s North & South, Strafaci missed the cut. He didn’t qualify for the U.S. Amateur when it came to Pinehurst later in the summer. Two years ago, he only made it as far as the first round of match play here. In his senior season at Georgia Tech, however, Strafaci recorded three top-6 finishes, including a runner-up at the Carpet Capital Collegiate.

Strafaci’s father Frank Jr., was on the bag this week at Pinehurst. He helped guide his son through a gauntlet of the nation’s best amateurs, from Oklahoma transfer Jonathan Brightwell to Pepperdine standout Joe Highsmith to Jonathan Yaun – maybe the hottest man going early week after a 9-and-8 victory in the second round – and eventually to the final match against Holcomb.

Strafaci had five birdies in a championship match that was tight all day. The final one came at the par-3 17th, when Strafaci already had a 2-up lead. He hit a high, drawing iron shot to inside 4 feet and made it for the victory.

As for Holcomb, a loss in the final doesn’t lessen his affection for the place.

“It was a great match, and hats off to Tyler,” Holcomb told Pinehurst. “I’m pretty frustrated because I feel like I gave away a few shots, but heck, what did Tyler have? Five, six, seven birdies on No. 2, one of the hardest golf courses in the world? He played great.”

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Tyler Strafaci going for North & South history; Jonathan Yaun blisters front nine at Pinehurst No. 2

The North & South Amateur is down to four men with two rounds to go at Pinehurst.

Jonathan Yaun shaved as many holes as he could off the front half of a double-round day at the North & South Amateur. The Liberty sophomore came out of the gate with a front-nine 28 on Pinehurst No. 2, quickly taking control of his Round-of-16 match against Oklahoma State’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

Yaun birdied seven of the first nine holes and won every single one. When he and Neergard-Petersen traded pars on the par-5 10th, the whole thing was suddenly over. On to the quarterfinals, but first a chance to relax.

Scoring: North & South Amateur

While he saved himself seven holes in the morning, Yaun went an extra hole in his quarterfinal match with Turk Pettit in the afternoon. Still, Yaun is moving on to the final day at Pinehurst. The Minneola, Florida, native finished runner-up at the Seminole Intercollegiate in the spring college season with his Liberty team, and last fall, won the individual title at the Royal Oaks Collegiate.

On Saturday morning, Yaun meets Tyler Strafaci, a Georgia Tech senior who is playing for an interesting bit of history. Strafaci’s grandfather Frank won the North & South title in 1938, and if the younger Strafaci can advance through the next two matches, it would make for the first grandfather-grandson winners in tournament history.

Strafaci’s path on Friday included a win over Oklahoma transfer Jonathan Brightwell, 1 up, and then another tight, 1-up victory over Pepperdine player Joe Highsmith.

On the top of the bracket, William Holcomb V, a U.S. Amateur semifinalist who seems to have a bit of magic around Pinehurst No. 2, will meet LSU junior Trey Winstead.

Holcomb took down Davis Thompson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, then Matt McCarty.

For his part, Winstead advanced past defending champion Cooper Dossey in the afternoon. Dossey had the advantage for most of the round until Winstead won three consecutive holes from Nos. 12-14. Dossey never could mount a comeback.

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Bracket is set at North & South and it includes U.S. Am semifinalist William Holcomb V

William Holcomb V was one of 32 players who advanced to match play on Wednesday as the tournament resets for the remainder of the week.

It feels like William Holcomb V’s voice is still echoing through Pinehurst’s fairways from his U.S. Amateur run in August. The affable Texan, who just completed his fourth year at Sam Houston State University, bantered and joked his way to the semifinals at last year’s Am, eventually falling to John Augenstein. It was a memorable performance, and he’s back this week at the North & South for another go ’round.

Holcomb was one of 32 players who advanced to match play on Wednesday as the tournament resets for the remainder of the week. Holcomb backed up an opening 72 on Pinehurst No. 4 with a 68 on No. 2 Wednesday. He’s in the No. 24 seed and will take on North Carolina native Blake Taylor on Thursday.

Scoring: North & South Amateur

According to Pinehurst writer Alex Podlogar, not much has changed this week for Holcomb. He brought back Pinehurst caddie Keith Silva – with whom he shared many memorable jabs during U.S. Am week – and is staying with the same family who hosted him in August. He called Pinehurst No. 2 “my favorite golf course I’ve ever played.”

At the top of the bracket sits Travis Vick, who was among three players to land at 7 under for 36 holes. Vick, who debuted at the University of Texas this past season, birdied the third playoff hole for outright medalist honors and will now meet Tyler Wilkes, who birdied his first playoff hole just to earn himself at least one more round at Pinehurst.

From Vick on down, the men who made it to match play bring stout resumes to the table. In the second match out, Pinehurst native Jackson Van Paris takes on Matt McCarty of Scottsdale, Arizona. Van Paris opened with 66 on Pinehurst No. 4 but came back with a 72 on No. 2 to fall to the 16th seed.

Below that, Georgia junior Davis Thompson, the reigning Jones Cup champion and No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, takes on Belmont senior Evan Davis.

Defending North & South champion Cooper Dossey claimed the No. 5 seed and meets Kelly Chinn, a Duke commit from Great Falls, Virginia, on Thursday morning. Chinn, who is headed into his senior year of high school, was a semifinalist at the 2019 U.S. Junior.

Peter Fountain, recent winner of the North Carolina Amateur and an incoming freshman for North Carolina, takes on Jonathan Brightwell, a Charlotte, North Carolina native who recently announced he would transfer from North Carolina-Greensboro to Oklahoma for next college season. Interestingly, Fountain defeated Brightwell in sudden death for the North Carolina Amateur title.

On the bottom of the bracket, Jonathan Yaun, a Liberty sophomore from Minneola, Florida, meets Matthew Sharpstene, who owned opening-day headlines after a course-record 64 on Pinehurst No. 4. Sharpstene, who is transferring from West Virginia to Charlotte for next season, had a vastly different type of day in Round 2. He made his lone birdie on the second hole of Pinehurst No. 2 and sprinkled in six bogeys for a second-round 75. It still left him with the No. 22 seed.

A handful of notable names are headed home after the opening 36 holes. Chief among those who missed the match-play cut were Texas sophomore Cole Hammer, who was one outside the number to make the playoff, and Canon Claycomb, who is just days removed from winning the Rice Planters Amateur on June 25. Claycomb missed the cut by two shots.

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Kevin Kisner loses match to Barstool Sports’ ForePlay podcast at Pinehurst No. 2

Kevin Kisner took on Barstool Sports’ ForePlay podcast in a scramble match for charity at Pinehurst No. 2 and lost.

Many a great event have been held at Pinehurst No. 2.

The Cradle of American Golf has played host to three U.S. Opens and U.S. Amateurs, a U.S. Women’s Open, a PGA Championship and the 1951 Ryder Cup.

Add the Fore Man Scramble to the list.

On Tuesday, the four members of Barstool Sports’ ForePlay podcast took on three-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Kisner in an 18-hole charity match that benefits COVID-19 relief.

The ForePlay boys, who teamed for a best-ball score, led 1 up on the 18th green when its leader, Sam Bozoian, better known to fans of Barstool as Riggs, walked-in a clutch par putt, forcing Kisner to make birdie to extend the match to extra holes. The putt didn’t fall, giving ForePlay the 1-up win.

Viewers were encouraged to donate at www.kisnerfoundation.com, and still can until 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 26. As of 5:15 p.m. ET, the initial goal of $50,000 for coronavirus relief had been met.

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Top resorts including Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes announce reopen dates

Golfweek’s Best top resorts plan their reopenings in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The top golf resorts in the country have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. With revenues tied to accommodations and food services as well as to their golf courses, even the resorts that have been able to keep their courses operational have sustained more than a month of lost bookings throughout the properties.

Most states have reopened their golf courses – only Vermont, Maryland and Massachusetts have remained closed to golf with no announced plans to reopen. And now that many states are trying to restart businesses, several top resorts have announced reopening dates of at least some non-golf operations as they plan a return to normalcy.

As examples of how resorts around the country are trying to get things started as governors allow businesses to open, we offer the following look at Golfweek’s Best top resort courses and proposed timelines for the full resort operations to open. Each resort has stressed its efforts to provide sanitary playing opportunities with social distancing and other modifications such as leaving the flags in the hole while putting and using modified cups to prevent players from having to reach too deeply into the holes.

No. 1 Pebble Beach Golf Links

The famed course in Pebble Beach, California – host to six U.S. Opens – reopened Monday. Hotel operations are slated to begin June 1. Spyglass Hill at the resort, No. 11 on the Golfweek’s Best list, also reopened Monday. Tee times are typically reserved for resort guests with only limited non-resort public access, but during May the golf courses will be open for public-access bookings with reduced green fees: $495 for Pebble Beach, down from the normal $575, and $325 for Spyglass Hill, down from the normal $415.

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