Jake Griffin of Argyle CC was crowned the new Maryland State Amateur Sunday. The 2020 Maryland State Open champion added another trophy to his collection as he battled all week to come out victorious. With an unfortunate loss on the 3rd playoff hole on Thursday and not winning the medalist honors, Jake never looked back and rolled to a big victory on Sunday after beating Bart George of U.S. Naval Academy 5&4.
Jake got off to a hot start on Sunday as he used his distance to his advantage to win four of the first six holes and got off to an early 4-up lead. Jake continued to extend that lead as he won holes No. 10 and No. 11 to gain a 5-up lead. Bart continued to battle as he won three of the last seven holes. On No. 14, Bart had a good up and down for birdie to cut into Jake’s lead. Bart ended 18, only needing a par to win the hole as Jake missed the fairway and made bogey.
After a 30-minute break, Jake and Bart returned to the first tee to start their afternoon match. Bart was able to win No. 2 after Jake hit his second shot over the green and into the bunker while also leaving his third shot in the bunker, which dropped his lead to only 2-up. However, Jake would win the next two holes (No. 3 and No. 4), with a great up and down for birdie on No. 3 and a fantastic chip, inches away from the cup for birdie on No.4, helping him regain his 4-up lead.
The two tied the remainder of the front nine and headed to the back nine with Jake still 4-up. Bart came out strong on the back and was able to win No. 10 with a great putt for birdie from about 15 feet to cut the lead to 3-up but couldn’t win another hole after. On No. 11, Jake almost hit his tee shot onto the No. 10 fairway and left his second shot short. He chipped on but had a lengthy putt for par and drained it, giving him much confidence heading to No. 12. Jake won No. 12 and No. 13 with birdies and sealed the victory with a birdie on No. 14 to win the match 5&4. Jake was asked about his preparation for the championship, and he said, “Lots of rest. Playing 36 holes day after day is a lot of golf, so I needed to make sure my body was well-rested and refreshed for the next day.” Having a three-shot lead after the first 18 holes can cause some players to lose focus, and when asked about that, Jake said, “I didn’t try to do anything different. I went out and tried to play the best I could. I tried to get off to a hot start to make it easier on myself and keep it going.”
Jake Griffin becomes the fourth member of Argyle CC to win an Amateur Championship joining Denny McCarthy, Robert Biblo Jr, and Bobby Morris. This was the club’s 5th Maryland State Golf Association Amateur Championship title.
In getting to the final, Jake (qualified with a 2-under 68) eliminated #30 Billy Wingerd, #19 Joseph Neal, #11 Patrick McCormick, and #10 Eli Kimche, while Bart (qualified with 1-over 71, advancing in a playoff) put out #1 Brad Whitaker, #17 Oliver Whatley, #9 Will Halamandaris, and #4 Austin Barbin.
The 2023 championship will be played at the Chartwell Golf and Country Club in Severna Park, Maryland.
Runner-up Bart George and MSGA President/Officer-in-Charge Diane Herndon
Match Play Quarterfinals & Semifinals
Jake Griffin had the most dominant performance in the quarterfinals by defeating Patrick McCormick 3&2. Jake was able to win holes 1, 4, 6, and 9 to gain a 4-up lead after nine holes. Jake made par on the par 4 16th that secured his spot for the semifinals playing the winner of Charlie Winegardner and Eli Kimche. Kimche gained an early lead as he went 1-up after No. 3 by making a birdie. The lead would slip as Charlie won holes No. 7 and 8 with a par and a birdie. Eli would bring the match back to all square with a birdie on No. 11. However, Charlie would regain his lead after making a birdie on No. 12 and par on No. 14 to go 2-up. Going into No. 17, Eli was down 2 and would go on to win No. 17 with a birdie and No. 18 with a par. The match went into a playoff, with Eli coming out victorious after the first playoff hole as he holed out from the fairway to make an eagle. Eli would go on to face Jake Griffin in the semi-finals match.
Bart George was able to win his match against Will Halamandaris 2&1 to earn his spot in the Semi-Finals match. Bart gained an early 3-up lead after making par on No. 1, birdie on No. 2, and birdie on No. 4. However, Will was able to win No .5 and No. 8 with birdies to cut the lead down to 1-up. Bart would go on to par No. 9 and gain a 2-up lead going into the back nine. Will came rolling back as he made par on No. 13 and birdie on No. 14 to bring the match back to all square. However, Bart would birdie No. 15 and par No. 16 to go 2-up and win the match on No. 17 by making par. Bart would face the winner of Austin Barbin and Chris Baloga. This match was a thriller as it was a continuous back and forth match. Baloga came out hot early as he took a 2-up lead thanks to a birdie on No. 1 and a par on No. 2. However, Austin came storming back as he went birdie, eagle, birdie on No. 3, 4, and 5 to gain a 1-up lead. Baloga would come back on No.6 with a par to tie the match. Austin regained the lead with a good birdie on No. 8 and headed to the back nine being 1-up. Chris tied the match with a par on No. 13 but quickly went 2-down as Austin would birdie No. 14 and 16. Needing to win No. 17 to keep the match going, Chris made a clutch birdie to send the match to 18. Both players would tie the hole, and Austin Barbin would win 1-up and would go on to face Bart George in the semi-finals later that afternoon.
The semi-final match between Eli Kimche and Jake Griffin was a thriller that went on to 21 holes. Eli came ready to play as he shot a quick 2-up lead with a birdie on No.1 and bogey on No.2 to win the hole. However, Jake would go into the back nine 1-up after winning No. 6, 8, and 9. Jake would also win No.10 with a birdie to gain a 2-up lead. Eli quickly tied the match with a birdie on No. 11 and par on No. 12. Jake came back and went birdie on holes 13 and 14 to go into the final stretch of holes 2-up. However, Eli went par, par, and birdie on 15, 16, and 17 to 1-up into the final hole. Jake made a clutch birdie to send the match into a playoff. The match ended after the third playoff hole with Jake making a birdie.
The second semi-final match between Bart George and Austin Barbin was another close, back-and-forth match. The match went to the back nine with Bart being 1-up after winning No. 1, 7, and 8 while Austin won No. 5 and 9. Austin tied the match after No. 10 with a birdie and would proceed to go 1-up after another birdie on No. 12. The match had Austin 1-up going into No. 16, but Bart birdied No. 16 and made par on No. 17 to go 1-up and win the match on 18 with a par. Bart would face Jake Griffin in the final on Sunday in a 36-hole match.
Match Play Round 1 & 2
There were some well-played matches in the first round of the 101st Men’s Amateur Championship at Argyle CC. The first round saw twelve matches go to the 17th or 18th green, and one match took extra holes to decide a winner.
The exceptions were Oliver Whatley (Argyle CC), who won his first match 5&4 against Bryan Kim (Argyle CC). Austin Barbin (Chesapeake Bay GC) defeated Mike Filler (Fox Hollow) 5&3. Lastly, Charlie Winegardner (The Cannon Club) was able to beat Joseph Scheffres (Woodmont CC) 4&2, only losing one hole the entire match.
There was one all-Argyle match in the first round of match play. Oliver Whatley went head-to-head against fellow member Bryan Kim. After the first nine holes, Whatley was 2-up. Through holes 10-13, Whatley was able to win three of the four holes only to give himself a 4-up lead going into the 14th hole. On the 14th hole, Whatley made par and won the match 5&4.
In the only match that went extra holes, Jake Griffin (Argyle CC) was tied with Billy Wingerd (Hillendale CC) after the 13th hole. They tied the remainder of the holes, including both the players bogeying 18. Griffin was able to hold off Wingerd as he made birdie on the first playoff hole to advance to the second round of match play. Medalist, Marshal Meisel (Chevy Chase Club) was able to beat Dustin Stocksdale (Argyle CC) 2&1 by making par on the 17th hole.
In the second round of match play, Jake Griffin (Argyle CC), Bart George (U.S. Naval Academy), and Chris Baloga (Hillendale CC) had the most dominant performances, with Griffin and Baloga both winning their matches 7&5 and George winning his match 6&5. Griffin made the turn 4-up against Joseph Neal and was able to go par, par, birdie, par on 10-13 to win. George went into the turn 4-up after losing only one hole on the front nine. He birdied No. 10 and made par on No. 13 to finish off Oliver Whatley. Baloga won three of the first four holes of his match and never looked back. Baloga made the turn at 5-up, and Matthew Barnes couldn’t make a comeback as Baloga birdied both 12 and 13 to win the match.
Charlie Winegardner (Cannon Club) defeated medalist, Marshall Meisel (Chevy Chase Club) 2&1, Will Halamandaris (MSGA eClub) defeated Vance Welch (Hobbit’s Glen GC) 3&1, Eli Kimche (Woodmont CC) defeated Andrew Kolarik (Baltimore CC) 3&2, Austin Barbin (Chesapeake Bay GC) defeated Philip Fenstermaker (River Marsh) 2&1, and Patrick McCormick (Argyle CC) defeated Kevin Johnson (Bethesda CC) 2&1.
Saturday morning’s play saw George against Halamandaris; Winegardner vs. Kimche; Barbin vs. Baloga, and Griffin against McCormick. The winners advanced to the afternoon semifinals, with a 36-hole final scheduled for Sunday.
Stroke Play Qualifying
On Thursday, several players turned in scores at –2 to be the lowest rounds of the day. Jake Griffin (Argyle CC), Marshall Meisel (Chevy Chase Club), Austin Barbin (Chesapeake Bay GC), and Chris Baloga (Hillendale CC) all finished the day at 2-under and would later go into a playoff to see who the medalist would be. There were also eight 1-under pars recorded on the day, all good enough to advance to stroke play on Friday.
Overall, the 137 players were reduced to 31 for the match-play draw (Brad Whitaker was exempt), and the cutoff fell at +1, with twelve players in a playoff fighting for eleven spots. The well-groomed course was played at 6,513 yards to a par of 35-35–70.
The medalist playoff only saw three of the four players who shot –2 on the day as Chris Baloga decided not to participate. The first playoff hole was number 12, par 5. Meisel hit his second shot onto the green and almost holed out for albatross. Barbin hit his second shot just over the back of the green while Griffin had to lay up. Griffin stuck his wedge approach close and was able to tap in for a birdie. The same went for Barbin, as his chip shot allowed him to have a short birdie putt. Meisel had a decent look at eagle to win on the first playoff hole but missed the putt and tapped in for birdie. The second playoff hole was number 13, an uphill par 3. Everyone hit the green and had decent looks at birdie, but everyone settled with a par. The next playoff hole was number 17, a downhill par 3. Barbin and Meisel hit the green, but Griffin couldn’t. Meisel was able to successfully line up his putt and sink it for a birdie. Barbin had a shorter putt but one that had a little more break to it. However, Barbin couldn’t make his birdie putt to extend the playoff, and Meisel was awarded the medalist honors.
Argyle’s own Bryan Kim, Oliver Whatley, Jake Griffin, Patrick McCormick, Nicklaus Harrington, Dustin Stocksdale, Matthew Barnes, Luke Schaap, and Benjamin Siriboury made the cut and advanced to match play at their home course.
There was a twelve-man playoff for eleven spots after stroke play. George, Harrington, Stocksdale, Filler, Kolarik, Cline, Wingerd, Welch, Sampson, Schaap, and Peel were all able to advance to match play after the playoff.
Medalist Marshall Meisel
