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Sunday Match Play – 36-hole Final
Ben Warnquist won the first three holes of the morning round and was not headed, as he defeated Bart Mease, 6 and 5, for the 96th Amateur Championship of the Maryland State Golf Association at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, June 11. The final round matched Manor CC members and produced Warnquist’s second title in the last three years.
Once past the opening hole, the margin did not dip below two, as Warnquist padded his lead to 4-up after a 1-under-par 69 for the morning tour of a wonderfully conditioned 6,615-yard course that featured fast and firm greens.
“Those opening holes set the tone,” Mease declared. “I talked with my coach [PGA professional] Steve Bosdosh, last night and he said, ‘Don’t give it away.’ So what do I do? I go out there and give it away.”
The caliber of play (an eagle and seven birdies combined) was much better in the morning, as there was just one birdie between them in the afternoon. For the most part, errant swings, especially with the driver, held sway. Mease had the edge there, hitting seven of 10 fairways on the driving holes, while Warnquist reached just four.
“It’s so easy to make bogeys on this course,” Warnquist pointed out. “We both gave each other chances, but it was more of a grind just to make pars.” However, he had to be thrilled with the shot of the day, as he nearly holed a bunker shot at the 191-yard 13th hole and wound up with a winning par that sealed the verdict.
“I put myself in a bad spot there, but that green slopes down [back to front], so I aimed for a spot about 15 feet above the hole and used it as a backboard. The shot did not come off exactly as planned, but the ball rolled up to the spot, paused, then trickled down the slope, stopping six inches from the cup.”
Warnquist was complimentary of his opponent, saying that when he saw the bracket, he thought Mease had a good chance of doing well. “Actually, I was lucky to get past the second round with Bennett Buch (22 holes) and I’m more surprised I made it this far. And with Bart, nothing surprises me.
To which Mease, 40, who works in software sales, said in summation, “The best man won.”
Previous Manor CC champions
2015 — Ben Warnquist
1976 — Jerry F. McFerren
1947 — Robert W. Brownell
Previous Same Club Finalists
2017 — Ben Warnquist & Bart Mease, Manor CC
1971 — Dave King & Mike Nesbit, Bethesda CC
1962 — Ralph Bogart & Robert W. Brownell, Chevy Chase Club
1923 — Frank M. Sweeney & W.L. Richardson, CC Maryland
Saturday Match Play – Quarterfinals and Semifinals
For the first time since 1971 and the fourth time overall in the 96-year history of the Maryland State Golf Association’s Amateur championship, two members from the same club will play a scheduled 36-hole match for the title, June 11, at Columbia Country Club.
This was assured on June 10, when Manor CC members Ben Warnquist and Bart Mease each won two matches for the second day in a row, as the 32-man draw was reduced to just these two. After the qualifying round June 8, it seemed a most unlikely final. Certainly Warnquist, 24, the medalist (5-under 65) and 2015 champion was a logical pick, but Mease, 40, working his way back into competitive golf after an extended absence, had recorded 35-39–74, good for No. 29 in the draw.
Yet here they are, best friends poised to put that aside in favor of their best shot at a coveted crown. “We’ve played a ton of golf together so it should be fun,” Warnquist said, noting the attraction should attract a sizeable gathering of friends and Manor members. Mease knows he’ll need blinders to avoid the same obstacle — a small group of followers — that presented a distraction during Saturday’s play.
The last “member” final saw Dave King defeat Mike Nesbitt in an all-Bethesda CC match, for which Columbia CC was also the host. Among the earlier ones, there is irony in the 1962 pairing when Ralph Bogart defeated Bobby Brownell, a Chevy Chase clubmate and his insurance partner. Warnquist is currently employed by their successors, who retained the company name. As he said, “Seeing their names on the trophy inspires me.” Bogart won a record 10 titles and Brownell, one.
As might have been expected, Warnquist had the easier task in reaching the final. He beat Columbia member Colin St. Maxens in the morning, 5 and 3, and Ben Shields, from Pine Ridge GC, in the afternoon, 3 and 2. Shields, a No. 3 seed, who had crushed Wake Forest junior Lee Detmer, from Chevy Chase, in the quarters, 6 and 5. Mease went 18 holes twice, stopping Nick Barrett, Turf Valley CC, and defending champion Ty Herriott, Old South CC.
Against Shields, they halved the first four holes, but after Warnquist’s eagle-3 was conceded at the 535-yard fifth, he was not headed the rest of the way. He won 11 with a par, 12 with a birdie and ran in an 18-foot birdie putt at the 15th to go dormie. “I hit it very well against tough opponents,” the wiry, 6-foot-3 Warnquist said. “I’ve played the back nine especially well all week, so when I get there I have more confidence. I just need to play the middle holes better and eliminate the errors. Of his morning loss, St. Maxens shook his head over several early mistakes that enabled Warnquist to get ahead.
Shields won four holes with pars and one with a birdie in jumping to a 5-up lead on Detmer through nine holes to essentially end it.
In what had been a see-saw match with Herriott, Mease got the upper hand with a par at the 16th, then won the 17th with a bogey, as Herriott drove into some trees and could not recover. At the 18th, Mease won with a conceded birdie after Herriott three-putted . Mease said, “My best swing of the day was an 8-iron shot to four feet at 18. I was a little more comfortable today. . .and I stayed patient. Ty’s really good,” so it was a good experience. “I’m getting more comfortable every round. I’m learning the greens because they are so fast.”
Earlier, against Nick Barrett, 24, a Carroll County Community College student who works at Turf Valley, Mease went 2 up for the first time at 16 and they halved 17. Barrett had not been beyond the qualifying round in the past, and here, he said his driving was fine but his wedges were a problem as he could not keep the ball below the hole. That’s a necessity with the surfaces rolling 13 1/2 on the stimpmeter.
Quarter-finals
Tyler Herriott, Old South CC def. Evan Santa, Crofton CC, 1 up
Bart Mease, Manor CC, def. Nick Barrett, Turf Valley CC, 2 and 1
Ben Warnquist, Manor CC, def. Colin St. Maxens, Columbia CC, 5 and 3
Ben Shields, Pine Ridge GC, def. Lee Detmer, Chevy Chase Club, 6 and 5
Semi-finals
Mease def. Herriott, 2 up
Warnquist def. Shields, 3 and 2
Friday Match-Play – Rounds 1 and 2
A pair of 22-hole struggles featured the second of two rounds of the 96th Maryland State Amateur championship at Columbia Country Club, June 9, as six of the eight second round matches went at least 18 holes.
Ben Warnquist, from Manor CC, edged Bennett Buch, from Cattail Creek CC, in one marathon, while Lee Detmer, from the Chevy Chase Club, thwarted former champion (2004) Billy Wingerd, from Mountain Branch GC, in the other.
Two-down at the turn, Warnquist , the 2015 champion, won the 15th and 16th to go one in front, only to have Buch win the 17th with a par. Two pars at 18 forced the overtime. On the fourth extra hole, Warnquist curled home an across-the-green putt from 30 feet to end it.
Earlier in the extended session, the winner had missed winning putts from five feet and three feet (Buch also missed a short putt).”It was a tough day,” Warnquist stated, “I hit it well in the morning but not in the
afternoon where my short game saved me.” In the first round, he won the first two holes and was never behind in subduing teenager Jack Halleron, from Baltimore CC, 4 and 3.
In a battle of big hitters, Detmer finally emerged at the fourth playoff hole with a two-putt par from the front edge for the victory. The rising Wake Forest junior, who had lost in the first round a year ago, advanced this time by riding a five-hole winning streak to a come-from-behind win against Brett Williams, Baltimore CC.
Another first-round loser from a year ago, Ben Shields, out of Pine Ridge GC, produced the shot of the day as he made it through to the quarter-finals. At the 374-yard downhill 15th, he drove it to the bottom of the hill (about 330 yards) and pitched in from 40 yards for an eagle-2 and a 1-up lead against Mike Stackus, Hobbit’s Glen GC,
in the afternoon. The two parred the last three holes.
They were even at the turn, but Shields went ahead with a “huge” birdie at the 10th, fell back with a three-putt at the par-3 13th and aside from 15, they halved the other six holes of their second nine. “I was hot with the putter yesterday [Thursday], but didn’t have a good feel for the speed today,” Shields said. “I think the course was tougher, too, and he [Stackus] was so solid. ”
Defender Tyler Herriott, from Old South CC, moved through the two rounds with victories over Austin Barbin, from Chesapeake Bay GC, Thursday’s playoff winner for the last spot in the draw, and Tyler Newton, from Winter’s Run GC. Newton proved a tough foe, as he was 5-down after six holes, and rallied to get back to within one twice before Herriott ended it with a birdie at the 17th.
No more than one hole separated Evan Santa, Crofton CC, and Brendan Peel, Columbia CC, for the last 10 holes. Peel. 1-down after 14, drew even at 17, only to drive into a bunker at 18, have to chip out and lost to a winning two-putt par by Santa. Santa had won in the morning when a possible win turned into a 3-putt at 14 by Matt Bassler, CC of Maryland, and he promptly lost 15 and 16 to fall out, 3 and 2.
Bart Mease, 40, from Manor CC looking to get a competitive edge back after a long break from the game, made a start with two wins. He was 4 up at the turn, but lost three holes to Cabe Prieskorn on the back nine, then won 17 with a bogey to seal a 2-and-1 win. In the afternoon, against Jamy Farrah, Bethesda CC, he was not behind, but never more than two ahead. Farrah got to all square three times in the last five holes, but Mease won with a bogey at 18. “Exhausted. . .and surprised,” he declared. “I just kind of hung in there and made some putts when I had to.”
Colin St. Maxens, the lone Columbia CC member still in the hunt, and Nick Sorkin, Lakewood CC, waged a tense struggle, especially for the last 11 holes, as no more than one hole separated them until St. Maxens birdied the 18th for a 2-up triumph. They had been even after 16, but St. Maxens won 17 with a par.
Nick Barrett, from Turf Valley CC, produced two comfortable wins. He topped Pat McCarthy, Columbia CC, 5 and 3, and he went 4 up through six holes against Chris Baloga, Hillendale CC, and was not seriously challenged in winning, 3 and 2. Baloga , backed by a successful coaching career at Loyola University Maryland (three Patriot League titles in four years) could enjoy his 34th birthday more after a 3-and-2 win over Ryan McCarthy, Baltimore CC, one of his former players at Loyola.
Quarter-final pairings, beginning at 7:30 a.m.:
Tyler Herriott, Old South CC, vs. Evan Santa, Crofton CC
Bart Mease, Manor CC. vs. Nick Barrett, Turf Valley CC
Ben Warnquist, Manor CC, vs. Colin St. Maxens, Columbia CC
Ben Shields, Pine Ridge GC, vs. Lee Detmer, Chevy Chase Club
Thursday Stroke-Play
The major excitement in on-site qualifying for the 96th Maryland State Amateur
championship was generated at opposite ends of what became the 32-man draw. Ben
Warnquist, the 2015 medalist/champion from Manor Country Club, blitzed the field
with a course-record 34-31–65 at Columbia Country Club to easily claim the
medal, and Austin Barbin, from the Chesapeake Bay GC, survived what started as a
14-for-1 playoff to earn the final spot in the bracket.
With all 131 players tackling the 6,615-yard course on Connecticut Avenue from
the first tee, Warnquist was 1 over par for the first six holes before taking
charge of his game. He birdied the seventh and ninth holes, then more than
offset one bogey with five birdies on the back, including a 16-17-18 finish.
“I hit it well — that was the key,” he said of his round against a par of
35-35–70. “I just tried to keep it in play. It was hard to judge the wind
[which blew steadily on a sunny and mild day] so I was concerned with ball
flight and keeping the ball below the hole [on the slick greens].”
His 65, five shots clear of his closest pursuer, bettered the previous course record of
66, a mark achieved by seven players in the past. It was also one stroke shy of Josh Eure’s qualifying record of 64, set at Chartwell CC in 2012, the year he won the championship.
When Benton Weinberg and Patrick McCormick, the final pairing, posted 72 and 71, respectively, this time, there was defender Tyler Herriott, an automatic at the top of the draw, and 30 other players at 74 and better. With one of the 75’s failing to start, the other 13 played the par-3 16th twice, which took care of eight the first time and one the second. At the par-4 17th, Barbin was the only one of four to make par.
Barbin, 16, a junior at Red Lion Christian School, hit the 16th green the first time and two-putted for his par. The second time, his drive almost went into the pond guarding the green but stopped on the slope and he managed to chip up and hole a 15-foot putt. At 17, which features a severely elevated green, he missed the green, chipped to 25 feet and watched his downhill putt curl into the hole.
His reward, like the 32’s before him, was a 7 a.m. (June 9) start against the defender, Herriott, who plays from Old South CC. A year ago, at the Elkridge Club, he defeated Connor Flach in the final. Flach, from Turf Valley CC, made it this time with a 74.
Ben Shields, from Pine Ridge GC, returned 36-34–70, and said “It might have been my best putting round ever.” Even though he missed a couple of short putts early, and had two 3-putts in the tour, he also made it from 15 feet above the hole on No. 9 and from 20 feet below on No. 10. At 12, his ball hit short and rolled to the back fringe, from where he drained it. And, at 16, from pine straw on the left, he chipped to 20 feet, barely tapped his downhill bid and watched it roll right into the center of cup.
Among the pursuers, Cabe Prieskorn, Eisenhower GC, was -1 for 13 holes before slipping back to finish at 71; Nick Barrett, from Turf Valley Resort, was -1 for the last 14 to finish at 71; Nick Sorkin, Lakewood CC, bogeyed 1-2 and played the last 16 even for 72, while Brett Williams of Baltimore CC, a finalist in 2011, had 17 pars and a double-bogey, also for 72.
The hole of the day, particularly for Weinberg and McCormick, might have been No. 5, a 535-yard par-5. Weinberg, from TPC Potomac at Avenel, had 230 in, hit a 4-iron shot to 30 feet and the uphill breaker fell into the hole for an eagle-3. McCormick, was just in front of him with 214 in, also hit 4-iron to six feet and sheepishly admitted he missed it and settled for a birdie.
There were six former champions in the field and four made it to match play — Nocar, Herriott, Warnquist, and Billy Wingerd. Missing out were Mark Cusic and Mike Mulieri.
Four rounds conducted June 9 and June 10, will reduce the draw to the two finalists for a scheduled 36-hole match June 11.
Reported by John Stewart
