Former college golf stars are winning in their professional debuts, and it’s not a surprise to their fellow pros

“It’s only going to get better.”

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NORMAN, Okla. — Rose Zhang started the trend three weeks ago. Adrien Dumont de Chassart followed her up the next week. Then, Ricky Castillo joined the party.

Three straight weeks. Three straight professional events won by a player making their debut straight out of college, and all in different situations.

Amateurs having immediate success straight out of college is nothing new, though there are more opportunities now for the top college players right after turning professional compared to the past, especially on the men’s side with PGA Tour University.

“I wish we would’ve had that back when I was in college,” former Oklahoma State golfer Kristoffer Ventura said Thursday after an opening 5-under 67 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Compliance Solutions Championship at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. “Those guys are really, really good, and they’ve just proven that. They took advantage of that opportunity. It’s only going to get better.”

Only 13 days after winning a record second NCAA individual title, Zhang won in her pro debut on the LPGA at the Mizuho Americas Open. The following week and 12 days after bowing out during the quarterfinals of NCAA match play, Dumont de Chassart won the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am in a playoff.

Then last week, Castillo, who was making his pro debut on the heels of winning the national championship with Florida, won the Wichita Open in a playoff, where he beat Dumont de Chassart and Kyle Jones.

Dumont de Chassart finished third in the 2023 PGA Tour U standings, which guaranteed him fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023, as well as an exemption to the final stage of 2023 PGA Tour Q-School. For Castillo, who was ninth in PGA Tour U, he had conditional Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023, fully exempt membership on PGA Tour Canada for 2023, as well as an exemption to the second stage of 2023 PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

However, Castillo’s win changed that. He sits inside the top 30 in the Korn Ferry Tour standings. At the end of the year, the top 30 get PGA Tour cards. For Dumont de Chassart, he’s sixth and almost guaranteed to earn a card.

“All these wins from PGA Tour U guys kind of speaks to the level of talent in college golf,” said Logan McAllister, who finished third in the 2022 PGA Tour U standings. “College is obviously not the same as professional golf, but the guys who are at the top can come out here and compete, and they’ve proved that.”

There have been plenty of changes to PGA Tour U, especially in the past year to combat the LIV Golf League trying to lure players for guaranteed money. Former Oklahoma State golfer Eugenio Chacarra is one who left college, and he even won a LIV event last year.

This year, the top finisher, Ludvig Aberg, earned a PGA Tour card and has membership for the rest of the 2023 and the 2024 season, though he will be subject to reshuffles in 2024. There were more incentives to stay in college and pursue PGA Tour opportunities after turning pro.

Last year’s No. 1 finisher, Pierceson Coody, has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour and is eighth in points this year. He’s well on his way to eventually earning his Tour card, but he would’ve had it under the current rules.

“At first you’re frustrated because I missed it by a year,” Coody said. “But I am on a good path and doing the right things, and next year I plan to be on the PGA Tour. I turned down LIV, and then the next year, the No. 1 player gets a Tour card. It is weird to think about, but it is what it is and I’m in a good spot.

“As long as I keep my head there, I’m going to end up with a chance to do great things out there.”

Most of the recent PGA Tour U graduates agree that if the program had been around in the past, there likely would’ve been more stories of players turning professional and winning right away.

Michael Thorbjornsen, who is set to begin his senior year at Stanford in the fall, is playing in this week’s Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour on a sponsor exemption. He’ll be a part of PGA Tour U this season, and he knows how important it is for the college game.

“I think the younger guys are getting better and better, and I think it’s because we all see what opportunities are out there for us,” Thorbjornsen said. “PGA Tour U has created an unbelievable platform for us to perform our best and to have some sort of a pathway on Tour.”

There are more opportunities now than ever for college players turning professional, and they’re taking advantage.

“These young guys are hungry and ready,” said Rico Hoey, the 27-year-old who shot 7-under 65 on Thursday and played collegiately at USC. “I think it’s a great incentive to stay in school, but it’s really cool to see these young guys coming out and having success.”

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Men’s college golf notebook: Washington State makes history at Husky Invitational; three aces in the same tournament

Here’s what you missed in the men’s college golf world.

The Washington State men’s golf team accomplished something Tuesday it never had before: the Cougars won a tournament in the western half of its state.

Washington State captured its rival hosts tournament, the Husky Invitational held in Bremerton, marking the first time the Cougars have won a tournament in the western portion of the state. WSU finished at 4-over 868, three strokes clear of USC and five ahead of the host Huskies.

“We got off to a shaky start, but give our guys credit. They just hung in there and clawed their way back and just seemed very patient and just played until they were no holes left,” Washington State coach Dustin White said. “You couldn’t really draw a better way to start your season.”

The win was the fourth for White during his tenure with the Cougars.

Junior Jaden Cantafio and senior Pono Yanagi both finished in the top five on the individual leaderboard. Cantafio led the Cougars after he shot 4-under 68 in the final round to finish at 3-under 213, which was solo third. He moved up 15 places over his final round, which included five birdies and an eagle on the par-4 18th. Cantafio ended his day one stroke behind Washington’s Taehoon Song and five strokes behind USC’s Jackson Rivera, who won the tournament. Yanagi finished at 2-under 214 for the tournament, tied for fifth.

“The teams that we were paired with and that we were competing with, these are these are high-level teams and you know, a lot of respect goes to those guys,” White said. “I mean, it’s hard to win in college golf, and anytime you get a chance to be in contention, there’s no other feeling that’s like it. So we’re just really appreciative of the fact that we had some teams that pushed us, and I think we all made each other better.”

Oregon finished in fourth, one shot behind Washington, and Long Beach State tallied a fifth-place finish.

Rivera, a sophomore, has finished in the top 10 in four of his past five starts. It’s the first win of his college career.

Craziness at in Fort Collins

In terms of craziness, there was plenty of it at the Ram Masters Classic at Fort Collins Country Club in Colorado. There were three holes-in-one, an albatross and a tournament record tied during the two-day, 54-hole event.

UC San Diego’s Eliot Bunyaviroch aced the par-3 second hole with an 8-iron in the first round. Creighton’s Shaun Campbell hit a pitching wedge on the ninth hole in the second round, and his ball went in the cup. Then Texas A&M Commerce’s Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk made an ace on the par-3 14th during the second round. Northern Colorado’s Garrett Willis then had an albatross, an 8-iron from 210 yards on the par-5 first hole in the second round.

Host Colorado State finished at 17 under for the tournament, tying the event record.

Big win for Cardinal, Thorbjornsen

Elsewhere, Stanford got a signature early-season win against a packed field at the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields, beating second-place Florida and Illinois by 13 shots.

The Cardinal, ranked second in the Golfweek Sagarin rankings, shot even during the final round. Stanford led after every round, and junior Michael Thorbjornsen earned his first collegiate victory. He finished at 7-under 203, beating Florida’s Ricky Castillo and Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart by one shot. Thorbjornsen became the first Cardinal to win the tournament since Maverick McNealy in 2015.

Arizona State’s Ryggs Johnston finished solo fourth at 5-under 205 while Tommy Kohl of Illinois was solo fifth at 4 under.

More transfer news

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors recently made changes to the transfer portal, including opening and closing dates for specific sports. For men’s golf, the portal will open May 4, 2023, and close June 17 2023. For women’s golf, it will open April 27, 2023 and close June 10, 2023. There will also be a window for golfers to enter between Dec. 1-15, 2022.

In addition, the Division I Council is now permitting athletes who plan to enroll at another program after graduating to enter the transfer portal at any time.

Cameron Jourdan covers college and amateur golf for Golfweek. Got a college or amateur story? Email him at cjourdan@golfweek.com.

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U.S. Amateur: Ricky Castillo scrambles to avoid upset in the Round of 64

“That was pretty scary. My ball on 18 was less than an inch inbounds and I took advantage of it.”

PARAMUS, N.J. – Ricky Castillo was momentarily a twisted mess.

Moments after watching a six-foot putt for par slide past the hole, the 21-year-old Californian was lamenting the loss of a 1-up edge and contorting on the 18th tee at Ridgewood Country Club while a wayward drive flirted with trees well down the left side Wednesday in a Round of 64 match at the U.S. Amateur.

The ball narrowly stayed inbounds.

Castillo was forced to punch out short of the green, then calmly got up and down while Ludvig Aberg left his third in a greenside bunker then drew a miserable lie short side in the fescue once he did escape.

Game over.

“That was pretty scary,” Castillo said of the late drama in a 1-up victory. “My ball on 18 was less than an inch inbounds and I took advantage of it, made a good par. It’s not the way you want to see it end, but it was a really well-fought match. We both played really well. It’s a tough golf course, fast greens, thick rough. It was a fun match.”

U.S. Amateur: Scoring

Avoiding the long grass is a high priority for the rest of the week.

“I think everyone is going to have a pretty similar strategy,” said Castillo, a senior at Florida who was 1 down until he rattled off wins at 14 and 15. “Just hit fairways, hit greens. That’s kind of the only way you’re going to play well out here. It’s pretty hard to play well out of the rough just because it’s so thick, and the greens are really firm and fast. … Yeah, staying patient is definitely a big key out here.”

Next up is a Round of 32 match against University of Oregon senior Owen Avrit.

Thank God

Reality was just beginning to sink in when Josh Gliege admitted he never thought advancing beyond the Round of 64 was a possibility until Pietro Bovari missed a short and slippery putt on the 18th hole. The 24-year-old assistant golf coach at Wichita State got up and down from a short-side bunker on the 18th hole then watched his opponent fall victim to a late momentum swing.

“It was unbelievably stressful, especially because I haven’t done it in a while,” said Gliege, a native of Pocatello, Idaho. “It’s fun, but man it does take a toll on you. I never led until right there on the 18th green. He was 3-up through 11 and I won 12 and won 16, 17 and 18.”

Bovari, a 21-year-old from Italy who plays at Virginia, was in disbelief when his final putt failed to fall.

“I hit a terrible drive on 12 that went in the adjacent fairway, but got it up and down for birdie to win the hole,” Gliege said. “He missed a little short one at 16. I asked, ‘God, give me a little gift here and he did, thankfully.’ I said, ‘OK, I have a chance, he’s listening.’ I had a good feeling there.

“I did think a little about where this could go because it’s a fun thing to do, but I didn’t expect to make match play. I didn’t expect to win today. I just keep looking around saying, ‘This is cool,’ and was just kind of enjoying the moment. It’s fun to be here.”

Gliege is carrying his own bag.

“I kind of caddie for a living, I mean, I’m an assistant golf coach, so I’m used to it,” he said. “And I half-joke that I have enough thoughts running through my head, I don’t need somebody else’s. I just like being alone out there.”

Von Lossow makes a statement

Michael Thorbjornsen was coming into the U.S. Amateur hot and ranked among the favorites to win here. The 20-year-old Stanford junior tied for medalist honors Tuesday and got the No. 2 seed, but Andrew Von Lossow derailed that momentum in the Round of 64, posting a 3-and-2 win.

The 34-year-old graphic designer from Spokane, Washington, has a colorful personality. He let an early lead get away, but held steady and recaptured control with wins at 10, 11 and 12.

“That was awesome, playing Michael,” said Von Lossow, who also played in the U.S. Amateur Four Ball. “First time meeting him, I had heard about him, and I know he’s a great player. Then, seeing how he hits the ball and everything, it was awesome. … I didn’t hit every fairway, but I could muscle a few out of the rough. Then my caddie, he caddies here, Brian Roth, and he got me in the right spots around the greens.

“These are majors for me. The course condition, the setup, how the events are run, it’s just world-class. And then you’ve got the world-class competition, as well. It gets the juices going.”

It’s unclear if another fashion statement will be made in the Round of 32.

“This is my loudest shirt,” Von Lossow said. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll go red shorts or something. I don’t know if it’s turning into a signature thing. I might go a little brighter. My all-time favorite outfit is the milkman. It’s all white. But I don’t know if that’s going to come out.”

A number of upsets rattled the bracket.

Gordon Sargent, a 19-year-old sophomore at Vanderbilt who won the 2022 NCAA individual championship fell to Ford Clegg, a 22-year-old who played at Mississippi State, in 21 holes. Luke Gutschewski, a sophomore at Iowa State, had the top seed after tying for medalist honors was also sent home, falling in 20 holes to Purdue senior Peyton Snoeberger.

No soup for you

Mark Costanza was among the 15 players up early for a playoff to determine the last 11 players in the bracket. The 33-year-old from Morristown, New Jersey, grew up minutes away from Ridgewood and was hoping to extend his stay in the old neighborhood. He rolled in a 25-foot birdie to close out stroke play on Tuesday, but a bogey interrupted his run.

The only member of the Seinfeld grouping featured in match play still in play is University of Kentucky junior Campbell Kremer, who dispatched Josh Hill 2 and 1 in the Round of 64. Oklahoma State senior Hazen Newman was sent home, losing his match to Shea Lague in 21 holes.

Quotable

“They’re all really good,” 31-year-old Stewart Hagestad said of the next generation of talent. “You look up and down the range at some of these guys and you’re looking at a group of players that is going to play on, I guess you have to say whatever Tour they decide to at this stage in the game. … These guys are going to play professional golf and play in some big events for a long, long time. Just to kind of be around them, I think it inspires me to kind of raise my game and to rise to the occasion.”

Mike Dougherty covers golf for The Journal News and lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com or on Twitter @lohudgolf.

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Split tees? Multiple weather delays force rare change of schedule at U.S. Amateur at Oakmont

The USGA was forced to make a rare change to the schedule of the U.S. Amateur.

OAKMONT, Pa. — After yet another lengthy rain delay at the 121st U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Golf Association is shaking things up with this week’s schedule.

In a rare move for the organization, the Round of 32 and Round of 16 at Oakmont Country Club will have players go off on split tees on Thursday and Friday, respectively, after a second consecutive day of play was rocked by another nearly four-hour weather delay.

The Round of 64, scheduled to finish on Wednesday, will be completed Thursday morning after Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at Oakmont and nearby Longue Vue Club was pushed to Wednesday morning. The horn blew on Wednesday afternoon just as a 12-for-1 playoff for the final match-play position was starting, also halting the start of the Round of 64.

Wednesday’s action was called due to darkness at 7:50 p.m. ET.

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Despite the delay, one match was able to finish Wednesday evening at Oakmont, which earlier in the day was announced as the USGA’s second anchor site for future championships. Florida junior Ricky Castillo got out to an early lead against Donald Kay – who had former Haskins Award winner Norman Xiong on the bag – thanks to wins on four of the first five holes. Castillo never lost a hole in the match, ultimately winning, 5 and 4.

“I was just really excited to get back out there after the weather delay,” said Castillo. “I think all of us just wanted to go out and play golf and we were sick and tired of sitting in the locker room for a few hours. Just got off to a hot start, hit few good shots, made a few good putts, and just never looked back from there. It was a good match.”

2021 U.S. Amateur
Ricky Castillo stretches out in the locker room in the middle of a rain delay during the second round of stroke play at the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (Justin Aller/USGA)

Castillo arrived at the course at 6:15 a.m. ET and had to finish seven holes from his second round.

“It was nice finishing the match before it got dark and everything, because I know it’s going to be tough, especially since I have momentum in the match. When you sleep on it, momentum can change quickly. So I was glad to finish the match like that.”

The Round of 64 will continue Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. ET, with the first matches of the Round of 32 slated to start at 1:30 p.m. ET off the 1st and 10th holes.

U.S. pulls off a close Walker Cup victory amid a dazzling Seminole backdrop

The U.S. team got the win everyone predicted. Captain Nathaniel Crosby received the proper curtain call. And Seminole Golf Club dazzled.

JUNO BEACH – The U.S. team got the victory everyone predicted Sunday.

U.S. captain Nathaniel Crosby received the proper curtain call.

And Seminole Golf Club dazzled like everyone expected.

That’s how the 48th Walker Cup Match will be remembered: For the golf, the drama and the incredible beauty that is Seminole.

Florida sophomore Ricky Castillo went 4-0 for the U.S. and Cole Hammer scored the deciding point as the heavily-favored Americans held off a valiant effort by Great Britain-Ireland for a 14-12 victory. It was the fifth consecutive victory for the U.S. team on home soil and improved its series lead to 38-9-1.

“It means the world to me,” said Hammer, who went 3-0-1. “I had no idea I was the clinching putt. Living up to expectations are hard. We looked great on paper, but winning is still a difficult deal.”

Castillo defeated Joe Murphy, 2 and 1, and Hammer easily beat Ben Schmidt, 4 and 3. Castillo and Hammer were a combined 7-0-1.

“It’s a pretty cool experience for my first Walker Cup,” Castillo said. “This is the pinnacle of amateur golf.”

Stewart Hagestad, at 30 the oldest player on the U.S. team, struggled while losing his first two matches and lost his first two holes to Ben Jones. But Hagestad won five consecutive holes, starting at No. 9, to coast to a 4-and-2 win and give the U.S. its 14th point.

“I feel very lucky to be a part of it,” Hagestad said. “These guys are so talented and they are going to go on and have great careers.”

Paced by Austin Eckroat’s 7-and-6 trouncing of previously undefeated Mark Power and Pierceson Coody’s 3-and-1 victory over Andrew Fitzpatrick, the Americans got an early boost to gain the 4 ½ points they needed in singles.

“I had the momentum the whole round,” Eckroat said. “It was one of those days where I made all the putts and he missed them all.”

GB&I had closed the U.S.’s advantage to 8 ½-7 ½ after Sunday’s foursomes, but never could gain the lead.

“There’s been a lot of chatter about us hanging in there,” said GB&I captain Stuart Wilson said. “But we let the Americans away with too much.”

GB&I’s Joe Long, who was playing for the first time after being sidelined by the stomach virus, took advantage of John Pak’s shot into the penalty area and a chunked trip on the 18th hole to keep the visitors alive with a 2-up victory.

GB&I got more late heroics from Matty Lamb, who won the 17th hole to beat Davis Thompson, 2 up, but the U.S.’s Quade Cummins won the 18th to get a halve over Barclay Brown.

Reigning U.S. Amateur Tyler Strafaci finally got a chance to play in the Walker Cup after also being sidelined by stomach issues and taken to the hospital for fluids on Saturday. He lost both matches Sunday, however.

Seminole certainly didn’t disappoint

With dignitaries such as the 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush – his great-grandfather George Herbert Walker donated the Walker Cup – and legend Jack Nicklaus on hand, the Donald Ross gem amazed and confounded some of the world’s best amateurs with its ridiculously quick greens.

It’s the first time Seminole has hosted a Walker Cup, which was probably overdue considering the membership includes nine former players and 11 former captains. Seminole president Jimmy Dunne decided it was better late than never.

The Walker Cup
Tyler Strafaci of Team USA plays his shot from the bunker on the 18th hole during Sunday singles matches on Day Two of The Walker Cup at Seminole Golf Club on May 09, 2021 in Juno Beach, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

“Seminole is a really special place,” Dunne said as the final pairings teed off Sunday. “It was always our dream to open it to the amateur world.”

Crosby, a longtime Seminole member who first visited the club with his father Bing in the mid-1970s, is glad he decided to serve another captaincy after leading the team to a victory in 2019 at Royal Portrush. He originally hesitated after the thrill of two years ago.

“This is full circle for me,” Crosby said. “It was a miracle beyond miracles we had the event when everyone started getting sick. The Walker Cup is a spectacle. To win at Seminole is a dream for me.”

Crosby pointed out the Walker Cup, without spectator ropes, provides a rare chance for golf fans to walk among some of the game’s top players before they become famous. It’s not like that in other sports.

“Fifty percent of these guys will go on to become Tour stars,” he said. “People understand college basketball, but I think they really miss seeing these guys before they become marquee.”

The Walker Cup is so special that Bob Ford, Seminole’s head professional since 2000, waited until the event was held before he retired after a brilliant career that included 37 years as head pro at Oakmont Country Club. It proved to be a fitting curtain call.

“It exceeded my expectations,” Ford said. “The members are so proud. I don’t think anything could have gone better.”

Golf fans were treated to a more competitive Walker Cup than most imagined. The U.S. never trailed the last two days and finally found a way to win the Cup.

Sure, there was a pesky stomach virus that altered pairings, made life miserable for the players and complicated for the captains. But in the end, it was all about the golf.

As it should be.

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U.S. Walker Cup team is set for May matches at Seminole; includes 8 collegians, 3 returners from 2019

The 10-man U.S. Walker Cup team includes nine current college players and three players returning from the victorious 2019 U.S. squad.

With just more than two months until the 2021 Walker Cup match at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida, the U.S. team has taken shape. On Monday, the U.S. Golf Association announced the full 10-man squad that will compete in the first Walker Cup to be held in the spring on U.S. soil.

Davis Thompson, Ricky Castillo and John Pak, as the three highest-ranked Americans in the WAGR, earned their spot on the team after the World Amateur Golf Ranking was updated on Feb.10 to reflect results from the previous weekend’s Jones Cup, a prestigious amateur event at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia. The trio joined reigning U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci as the first selections to the team.

The remaining six players were later chosen by the USGA’s International Team Selection working group. Those players are Pierceson Coody, Quade Cummins, Austin Eckroat, Stewart Hagestad, Cole Hammer and William Mouw.

College Rankings
Men’s team | Men’s indiv. | Women’s team | Women’s indiv.

Hagestad, Hammer and Pak all return from the 2019 U.S. team that defeated Great Britain & Ireland at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Hagestad, the 2016 U.S. Mid-Am champ, and Strafaci, who did not return to Georgia Tech this spring, are the only non-collegians on the team.

Pak was arguably the man of the matches in 2019, going 3-0-0 (the only player on either team to go undefeated). The Florida State senior, who has since won two college events and finished as low amateur at the 2020 U.S. Open, came to the Walker Cup team in a decidedly different way than he did in 2019 in that he secured his spot early. A year and a half ago, Pak made six starts in a 10-week stretch, hitting all the major amateur events to make his case for inclusion. Ultimately he was one of the final selections, revealed after the end of the 2019 U.S. Amateur.

Castillo, now a sophomore at Florida, and Mouw, a sophomore at Pepperdine, seemed to be in the running for much of the summer of 2019, and likely were among the players who just missed a selection that year. Both were junior golfers then, on the cusp of college golf.

Castillo has spent time as the top-ranked player in the WAGR, but currently checks in at No. 6. He won twice in his abbreviated freshman season and has made the semifinals at the Western Amateur the past two years. Mouw set Pepperdine’s freshman record with five top-10 finishes and came back this fall with a pair of top 10s individually.

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As for Thompson, a Georgia senior who finished runner-up in his Jones Cup title defense last month, a Walker Cup pick has been all but guaranteed as he has maintained his position at or near the top of the WAGR for the past several weeks. He is currently ranked No. 1.

Thompson has won two college titles in the past two years, including the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional title, and was stroke-play medalist at the 2019 Western Amateur. He finished in the top 25 at the 2019 RSM Classic on the PGA Tour.

Cummins is the only fifth-year senior on the squad and is finishing up his career at the University of Oklahoma. He won the 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur and logged top-5 finishes at the 2019 Sunnehanna Amateur and in Western Amateur stroke play that year.

Coody, who is a teammate of Hammer’s at the University of Texas, won the Western Amateur in July 2020. Austin Eckroat, a junior at Oklahoma State, is ranked No. 15 in the WAGR and scored a top-15 finish at the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic in November.

McClure Meissner, a junior at SMU and the reigning Southern Amateur champion, and Garett Reband, another Oklahoma fifth-year senior, are the first and second alternatives, respectively.

Nathaniel Crosby, who in addition to guiding the 2019 victory also played on the winning U.S. team in the 1983 Walker Cup match, will return as captain.

“It is once again a great privilege to serve as the USA captain and to work with a group who represent the best of amateur golf,” said Crosby. “The 10 team members have a notable list of accomplishments on the collegiate, national and international levels. They will represent the United States in the spirit and tradition of the Walker Cup Match.”

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Western Amateur preview: Defending champ, big winners, ‘sweet sixteeners’ turn up at Crooked Stick

This week’s Western Amateur is essentially the final stop before the U.S. Amateur is played at Bandon Dunes.

The summer amateur marathon continues at the Western Amateur. This week’s championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, is essentially the final stop before the U.S. Amateur is played at Bandon Dunes in two weeks. The Western is famously grueling, with four rounds of stroke play in three days followed by four more matches over the next two days before a player is crowned the champion.

This year’s 159-man field includes nine of the top 10 Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Several players in the Western field appeared in the Sunnehanna Amateur, which wrapped up three days ago roughly 400 miles east in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Western Amateur: Tee times (Rds. 1 and 2)

The Western Amateur begins on Tuesday. Here are some angles of interest:

Big winners in 2020

Competition opportunities were scarce in the spring and early summer, but several major amateur events have been played as scheduled. These players in the Western field have already won significant amateur titles so far in 2020:

Davis Thompson, Jones Cup
Canon Claycomb, Rice Planters Amateur
Tyler Strafaci, North & South Amateur and Palmetto Amateur
McClure Meissner, Southern Amateur
Preston Summerhays, Sunnehanna Amateur

Returning from the bracket

After four rounds, the 16-man Western Amateur match-play bracket is formed. Eight players who reached the Sweet 16 in 2019 are in the field again this year (including defending champion Garrett Rank):

Davis Thompson
David Laskin
Quade Cummins
Turk Pettit
John Pak
Garrett Rank
Ricky Castillo
Frankie Capan

Practice run

As tournament directors were figuring out how to modify their summer events to keep players and staff safe from COVID-19, the Western Amateur venue underwent a bit of a test run in May. Crooked Stick hosted the inaugural Dye Junior Invitational, which included a field of 33 girls and 33 boys. The Western also benefited from its position on the back half of the summer schedule.

Steve Prioletti, the Western Golf Association’s director of amateur competitions, said in June he wouldn’t be shy about asking other tournament directors how they were managing COVID-19 challenges.

“Really getting granular with all those tournament details to make sure – obviously safety is the main priority – but you have to make sure it’s a good experience for all involved as well.”

In terms of players who garnered some meaningful experience competing at Crooked Stick earlier in the year, look no further than Michael Brennan and Clay Merchent, who finished fifth and seventh, respectively, at the Dye Junior.

Brennan, Golfweek’s No. 20-ranked junior, went on to win the Maridoe Junior Invitational in June and Merchent finished in the top 6 at both the Southern Amateur and Rice Planters Amateur.

Keep an eye on coach

With college golf recruiting in a COVID-forced dead period, coaches have found more time on their hands. Oklahoma coach Ryan Hybl, a regular on the amateur circuit while a two-time All-American at Georgia from 2001-04, made headlines at the Sunnehanna with the early lead. He finished an eventual T-15.

This week, it’s all eyes on Justin Tereshko. The 30-year-old, who is the head men’s and women’s golf coach at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, also finished second at the Orlando International to start the year and 21st at the New Year’s Invitational.

Tereshko, who played collegiately at Transylvania, also finished T-49 at the Sunnehanna last week.

Circle this on your tee sheet

If you were planning on attending the Western Amateur in person, well, better luck next year. After carefully monitoring the pandemic, the Western Golf Association has decided not to allow spectators. Only approved player guests, Crooked Stick Members and WGA guests may attend on site but must wear a face mask and practice social distancing.

So if you’re watching from afar, be sure to hone in on the 8:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. time slots. We like to call those the featured pairings for this event. Check them out:

Tuesday 8:30 a.m. on No. 1 / Wednesday 1:30 p.m. on No. 10

Garrett Rank, defending Western Amateur champion
Cole Hammer, U.S. Walker Cupper; 2018 Western Amateur champion
Davis Thompson, 2020 Jones Cup champion; 2019 Western Amateur medalist

Tuesday 8:30 a.m. on No. 10 / Wednesday 1:30 p.m. on No. 1

Quade Cummins, 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur champion
Andy Ogletree, U.S. Walker Cupper; 2019 U.S. Amateur champion
Pierceson Coody, 2019 Trans-Miss Amateur champion

Tuesday 1:30 p.m. on No. 1 / Wednesday 8:30 a.m. on No. 10

John Pak, U.S. Walker Cupper
John Augenstein, U.S. Walker Cupper; 2019 U.S. Amateur runner-up
Ricky Castillo, World No. 2-ranked amateur

Tuesday 1:30 p.m. on No. 10 / Wednesday 8:30 a.m. on No. 1

Austin Eckroat, World No. 17-ranked player
Matthias Schmid, 2019 European Amateur champion
Cooper Dossey, 2019 North & South Amateur champion

[lawrence-related id=778056263,777994878,778048254]

Pepperdine’s Sahith Theegala wins 2020 Ben Hogan Award

Pepperdine senior Sahith Theegala won the 2020 Ben Hogan Award, men’s college golf’s top honor.

Pepperdine senior Sahith Theegala didn’t have the senior season he expected due to the coronavirus pandemic, but maybe that’s a good thing.

The Pepperdine senior won the 2020 Haskins Award on May 8 and on Tuesday added another prestigious trophy to his collection: the 2020 Ben Hogan Award.

Theegala, the top-ranked college player on the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, was named a finalist for the annual award given to the nation’s top men’s college golfer in April alongside Vanderbilt senior John Augenstein and Florida freshman Ricky Castillo.

Theegala, the first golfer from Pepperdine to be nominated for the Ben Hogan award, won the Southwest Invitational and the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and had four more top-10 finishes in the shortened 2019-20 season.

Along with his win of this year’s Ben Hogan Award, Theegala will play in the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge.

Castillo is the No. 2 ranked player on the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking and Augenstein sits at No. 7.

All three golfers were first-time finalists and met the criteria for the award after each players’ performances over the past 12 months of competition were considered. This year’s college golf season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so only competitions between May 21, 2019 and March 12, 2020 were considered in determining a winner.

Other winners of the Ben Hogan Award include Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler.

[lawrence-related id=778043455,778019548,777951924]

Three finalists named for 2020 Ben Hogan Award

A long list of distinguished college golfers that made up the Ben Hogan Award finalist list has now been trimmed to three names.

Typically, the end of April means conference championships and gearing up for the postseason. But with college golf prematurely over, due to the coronavirus pandemic, late April means gearing up for awards season. A long list of distinguished college golfers that made up the Ben Hogan Award finalist list has now been trimmed to three names.

Pepperdine senior Sahith Theegala, Vanderbilt senior John Augenstein and Florida freshman Ricky Castillo are the remaining candidates for the award, given annually to the top men’s college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions over the past 12 months. This year’s season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that all tournaments played between May 21, 2019, and March 12, 2020, were considered.

Augenstein was the runner-up at the 2019 U.S. Amateur. In his final college season, he notched a victory at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate and had two other top-five finishes, including a runner-up showing at the Nike Golf Collegiate.

Theegala, back for his redshirt senior season after sitting out last year with a wrist injury, finished an abbreviated season as the top-ranked college player in both the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and the Golfstat individual rankings. He advanced to match play at the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur.

An impressive freshman campaign from Castillo included back-to-back tournaments victories at the Sea Best Invitational and Florida Gators Invitational. In all, he posted a 70.14 scoring average over seven events.

Augenstein and Theegala become the first golfers from their respective schools to be named finalists for the Ben Hogan Award. Castillo is the first Florida player since Matt Every won in 2006, and is also looking to become only the second freshman ever to win the award. Oklahoma State’s Rickie Fowler remains the only player to accomplish that feat in 2008.

The Hogan Award winner will be named in June but the traditional 2020 Ben Hogan Award dinner will not be held due to the pandemic. The 2020 recipient earns the first invitation into the PGA Tour’s 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge and will be honored during that week’s festivities.

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