Austin Barbin, from Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, made a second successful qualifying trip within 10 days, leading Open qualifying and sharing Amateur qualifying honors with Brett Williams, from Baltimore Country Club, as the Maryland State Golf Association held the second event in its annual series at Mountain Branch Golf Club in Joppa, May 9.
Barbin posted 36-34–70, and Williams, 34-36–70. The Harford County course was played at 6,796 yards with a par of 36-36-72. From a field of 72, there were 13 Amateur places and 15 Open places available (plus ties for the last spot) in the respective events. As a result, 16 qualified for the Amateur and 17 for the Open, with the cutoffs coming at 75 in each group.
The Amateur championship will be played June 6-9 at the Chevy Chase Club, and the Open championship, July 15-17, at Worthington Manor GC in Urbana.
Barbin, a senior at Red Lion (Pa.) Christian Academy and headed for the University of Maryland in the fall, had four birdies, two bogeys, but perhaps his two best shots got him one of each. He hit an 8-iron shot to 15 feet at the 152-yard ninth for birdie and chipped in from 25 feet to salvage a bogey at the third. On the back nine, he had three birdies, including nearly chipping in on the par-5 18th.
Last week, he qualified for a U.S. Open sectional out of a local qualifier at Piney Branch GC, shooting 69, then surviving a three-for-one playoff to claim the last of three available places.
Williams, a finalist in the 2011 MSGA Amateur at Hillendale, had four birdies two bogeys and bounced back twice (once each nine) from a bogey with a birdie.
Michael Chanaud finished as low professional with 37-34–71. He was 2 over par through 12, then made a 10-foot putt at 14 to save par and set the stage for a rally. He birdied the 15th from 20 feet, two-putted the short 16th for birdie, and two-putted the par-5 18th for birdie.
Last week at U.S. Open local qualifier conducted by the WMGA at Worthington Manor, Chanaud shot 72 and missed the ensuing playoff for alternate positions by a stroke.
With 2 under par the best score, it is not surprising that the low nine on each side was also 2 under — by Williams and Tyler Schmutz, from Argyle CC, on the front and Zach Lese, Lakewood CC, Chanaud, and Barbin on the back.
The next amateur/open qualifier will be conducted at the Country Club at Woodmore on Thursday, May 16.
Reported by John Stewart
