On Wednesday, Ryan Siegler won the 102nd Maryland State Open after finishing 18-under-par (65-65-68) for the week at Hillendale Country Club. Siegler finished four strokes ahead of second-place finishers Brandon Berry and 2022 champion Evan Katz. The par 72 course was in excellent condition for the 102nd Maryland State Open.
Siegler took the lead after the first round after carding a 65 to shoot 7-under-par. Siegler had a bogey-free first round with seven birdies to head into the second round with the lead. Billy Wingerd, 2007 Open Champion, was right behind Siegler as he shot a 6-under-par 66 to be one shot behind going into the second round. 2022 Harry Pitt Low Amateur, Jake Griffin, finished his first round at 1-under-par, carding a 36-35-71.
On Tuesday, a stunning score of 63 was shot by Alex Hoffman. Hoffman started his day on #10 with a birdie. He had four more birdies but a bogey on #17 to shoot 32 on the back. After making the turn, he started his second nine with a birdie. He made four more birdies on the front nine and finished with a 31. Hoffman’s performance would tie the course record at Hillendale. Additionally, Brandon Berry shot a 31-33–64 to move toward the top of the leaderboard and be in the final pairing for the third round. Berry birdied five holes on the front nine and four on the back nine but bogeyed the par 3 11th.
Alex Hoffman after shooting 63
Heading into the third round, Ryan Siegler remained at the top of the leaderboard with a four-stroke lead after carding another 7-under-par 65. A strong push by Berry and Katz wasn’t enough as Siegler went on to shoot a smooth 4-under-par 68 to win. Siegler made five birdies with one bogey on the par 3 11th. With Siegler’s outstanding performance, he broke the 54-hole total score-to-par record in the Maryland State Open by five strokes, beating Bob Boyd and Sean Bosdosh‘s record of 13-under-par. Additionally, Siegler’s total score of 198 is the second lowest for the Maryland State Open next to Boyd, who won at Bretton Woods in 1990 with a 54-hole score of 197 and was 13-under-par for the tournament.
Billy Wingerd went on to win the Harry Pitt (Low Amateur) after three playoff holes. The playoff for Low Amateur was between Wingerd, Kevin Johnson, and Carlo Pizzano. The three-man playoff began on the par 3 #3, followed by #4, and #9, rotating in that order until there was a winner. On the first playoff hole, all three players tied with a par. On #4, the tees were up for the final round, making the hole driveable. Johnson hit his tee shot left of the green into the round, which made for a tough second shot over a greenside bunker. Pizzano smashed his drive as he hit it into the left greenside bunker. Wingerd hit his drive about 30 yards short of the hole, just into the rough. Johnson was able to flop his second shot onto the green and two-putt for par. Wingerd hit his shot just a few feet from the hole and tapped in for birdie. Pizzano hit his bunker shot but still had about 10 feet left for birdie and was able to drain it to advance to the next hole, eliminating Johnson. On the next hole, Pizzano hit his tee shot into #2 fairway while Wingerd hit his into the left side of the 9th fairway. Pizzano hit his second shot into the left greenside bunker while Wingerd also missed the green but to the right. Wingerd hit his 3rd shot close, while Pizzano’s shot went past the hole by about 15 feet. Wingerd ended up tapping in to win after Pizzano missed his par putt.
