Match Play Final
Kevin Grady of Rolling Road Golf Club was crowned the new Maryland Amateur Sunday afternoon. The 4-time Maryland Mid-Am champion and 2021 Maryland Player of the Year added another trophy to his collection as he battled all week to emerge victorious. Grady defeated Lou Baker, from Baltimore Country Club, 1-up in the 36-hole match play final.
Baker got off to a hot start on Sunday, winning three of the first six holes to take a 3-up lead. Grady made a long putt on No. 9 to cut Baker’s lead to 2-up, making the turn. Grady continued to cut the lead, winning Nos. 10 and 12 to tie the match. On No. 13, Grady made a par to get his first lead of the match, going 1-up. Grady extended that lead with a par on the 16th to go 2-up, but Baker saved par on No. 17 to cut the lead to 1-up going into No. 18. Grady saved par on No. 18 to finish the morning 2-up.
After about an hour break, Grady and Baker returned to the first tee to start their afternoon match. Baker made a birdie on the 19th hole to cut the lead to 1-up. On the 22nd hole, Baker hit his third shot to within 2 feet. With Grady conceding the putt, the match was tied and continued its back-and-forth nature. Baker saved par on hole 23 to retake a 1-up lead. Baker then held that lead through the next five holes. On the 29th hole, Baker hit his tee shot into the water, took a drop, and then hit his ball into the green side bunker. He conceded Grady’s birdie putt, and they went to the 30th hole all tied. On the 32nd hole, a long par 5, Grady had the honor on the tee and played his shot safely to the middle of the fairway. Baker took a more aggressive line and was blocked out by the trees. Grady was able to make a birdie and go 1-up thru 32. On the 33rd hole, Grady hit his tee shot over the green, and Baker hit his tee shot to about 8 feet. Grady then went on to three-putt and conceded Baker his birdie putt to tie the match thru 33 holes. On the 35th hole, Baker, with the honor, missed short and ended up plugged in the face of a bunker. Grady then hit his tee shot to about 6 feet. Baker hit an incredible shot from the plugged lie to leave himself about 4 feet. Grady missed his birdie putt, and his par putt was conceded. With a putt to keep the match tied, Baker made the four-foot putt, and the match was all tied going into the final hole. Both players placed their tee shots into the middle of the fairway. On their second shot, Grady left his approach long while Baker was just short of the right greenside bunker. With Grady away, he hit his third shot to about three feet. Baker hit his third to the top of the slop but did not get high enough, and the ball rolled back past him, leaving an even longer chip for par. Baker hit his fourth shot to about six feet and made his putt for bogey. Grady, with three feet left, was able to sink the putt to make him the 102nd Maryland Amateur champion.
Kevin Grady becomes the fourth member of Rolling Road Golf Club to win a Maryland Amateur Championship, joining Lennox Bond (1924), Spencer Overton (1936, 1945, 1954), and Kevin Allis (1984). This was the club’s 6th Maryland State Golf Association Amateur Championship title.
In getting to the final, Kevin Grady (qualified with a 1-over-par 71) defeated #9 Luke Schaap (2&1), #25 David Nocar (7&5), #16 Dustin Stocksdale (9&7), and #21 Eddie Coffren (3&2). Lou Baker (qualified with 1-over-par 71) defeated #7 Bennett Espenshade (3&2), #23 Will Zelaya (1up), #2 Austin Barbin (2&1), #27 Billy Peel (1up) to advance to the championship match.
The 103rd Maryland Amateur Championship will be played at the Manor Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.
Match Play Quarterfinals & Semifinals
Kevin Grady had the most dominant performance in the quarterfinals by defeating Dustin Stocksdale 9&7. After tying the first two holes, Grady won holes 3 through 11 to win the match and secure his spot for the semifinals playing the winner of the Benton Weinberg/Eddie Coffren match. Coffren gained an early lead as he went 3-up after No. 6. However, Weinberg cut the deficit to 1-up after winning Nos. 8 and 9. Coffren made a birdie on No. 10 to get the lead back to 2-up. With Weinberg making a birdie on No. 12, Coffren was 1-up with six holes to play. Coffren saved par on the No. 14 hole to get the lead back to two up with four holes to play. On No. 17, Coffren made a birdie to win the match 3&1. Coffren would face Kevin Grady in the semifinals.
Lou Baker won his quarterfinal match against Austin Barbin 2&1 to earn his semifinal spot. Baker gained an early 2-up lead thru 4. Thru 14, Baker was 3-up with four holes to play. Baker closed the match on No. 17, with both players making par. Baker would face the winner of the Matthew Barnes/Billy Peel match. This match was a thriller as it was a continuous back-and-forth match. Peel came out hot early as he took a 2-up lead thanks to a birdie on No. 2 and a par on No. 3. However, Barnes got the match back to even after a par on No. 4 and birdie No. 5. Peel would regain the lead with a birdie on No. 7, but Barnes would go on to win Nos. 8 and 9 to go 1-up making the turn. Peel made a four on No. 14 to tie the match with four holes to go. Peel made a par on No. 16 to go 1up. On the 18th hole, Peel got up and down for par to win the match 1up. Peel would face Lou Baker in the semifinals later that afternoon.
In the afternoon, Kevin Grady faced Eddie Coffren in the first semifinal match. Grady never went down in the match, with his largest lead being 4-up thru 13. On the 16th hole, Both players made par, and Grady would win 3&2 to advance to the championship match. The second semi-final match between Lou Baker and Billy Peel was another close, back-and-forth match. The match went to the back nine, with Peel being 1-up after winning Nos. 4, 6, and 9, while Baker won Nos. 2 and 5. Peel extended his lead to 2-up through No. 12 with a par. Baker went on to win Nos. 14-16 to go 1-up with three two holes to play. Peel was able to make par after Baker left his par putt short, and the match was tied going into No. 18. Baker was able to win the match after Peel could not get up and down for a four. Baker would face Kevin Grady in the final on Sunday in a 36-hole match.
Match Play Rounds 1 & 2
There were some well-played matches in the first round of the 102nd Maryland Amateur Championship at Chartwell Golf & Country Club. The first round saw six matches go to the 17th or 18th green, and two matches took extra holes to decide a winner.
The exceptions were David Nocar (Chartwell G&CC), who won his first match 6&5 against Matt Bassler (MSGA eClub). Aidan Tudor (The Club at P.B. Dye) defeated defending champion Jake Griffin (Argyle CC) 5&3. Last year’s runner-up, Bart George (U.S. Naval Academy GC), beat Ben Lukehart (Piney Branch GC) 4&3, only losing one hole the entire match.
In the second round of match play, Kevin Grady (Rolling Road), and Dustin Stocksdale (Argyle CC), had the most dominant performances. Grady made the turn 5-up against David Nocar and closed out the match on No. 13 with a birdie and won 7&5. Stocksdale came out on fire and was 3-up through 10. He went on to win Nos. 13 and 14 to close out his match against Aidan Tudor 5&4.
Benton Weinberg (TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm) defeated Charlie Winegarnder (The Cannon Club) in 21 holes, Eddie Coffren (The Cannon Club) defeated Michael Crowley (Hayfields CC) 1-up, Austin Barbin (Chesapeake Bay GC) defeated Bart George (U.S. Naval Academy Golf Club) 3&2, Lou Baker (Baltimore CC) defeated Will Zelaya (Mountain Branch GC) 1-up, Matt Barnes (Argyle CC) defeated Seth Barnes (Compass Pointe) 3&1, and Billy Peel (Columbia CC) defeated Geoff Zgorski (Hobbits Glen GC) 3&1.
Stroke Play Qualifying
On Thursday, three players turned in scores at –2 (68) to be the lowest rounds of the day. Benton Weinberg (TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm), Matt Barnes (Argyle CC), Austin Barbin (Chesapeake Bay GC). With Weinberg and Barnes not at the course, there was no playoff for medalist, and Austin Barbin was crowned Medalist. Mike O’Neil (Baltimore CC), Michael Crowley (Hayfields CC), and Bennett Espenshade (The Eldridge Club), were the three other players to finish their round under par at -1 (69). The 130 players were reduced to 31 for the match-play draw (Jake Griffin was exempt), and the cutoff fell at +2. Chartwell’s own and past champion David Nocar made match play with a round of 72.
