Easton, Md. – The 103rd Maryland State Open was played at Talbot Country Club earlier this week, and it was Alex Hoffman of Columbia Country Club who claimed the title in the extremely hot conditions.
As the first round began Monday morning, players were greeted with sunshine and scorching temperatures due to the high humidity. With Talbot not receiving much rain in the weeks prior to the championship, the golf course was firm and fast for competitors. On top of that, there was very little wind. Considering these conditions, a lot of people expected the players to go low, but it was the tricky hole locations on Talbot’s sloped greens that held players from going deep into red figures.
By the end of the day, there were four players tied for the lead that shot 3-under-par rounds of 68: Rij Patel (a), Will Koras (a), Billy Peel (a), and Grant Lester (a). With several other amateurs at the top of the leaderboard, Hoffman secured himself a spot just one shot back of the leaders with a 2-under-par round of 69. In total, 20 players shot under-par rounds, and 14 players stayed at even-par after the conclusion of the first round.
Tuesday’s second round brought a little more heat than the first day, both in terms of the weather and the golf. The temperature increased a couple of degrees, and there was still very little wind blowing throughout the golf course. Only one of the four leaders from the first round stayed in the lead after the second round, and that was Patel. He shot a 1-under-par round of 70 to retain his spot as a leader, and was as steady as anyone could be. He made 26 pars, seven birdies, and three bogeys in his first 36 holes.
The three new players that tied Patel at the top were Charlie Bundy (a), Eddie Coffren (a), and Greg Pieczynski. Bundy, who shot an even-par opening round, blitzed Talbot with a 4-under-par round of 67. Coffren and Pieczynski both stayed consistent over the first couple of days by shooting back-to-back rounds of 69 to put themselves at the 4-under-par mark.
More past champions got into the mix after the second round, including Josh Speight, the 2020 Champion, who fired a 5-under-par round of 66, the lowest round of the day. With that amazing round, Speight was only one shot back of the leaders. Jake Griffin (a), the 2021 Champion, also jumped to the 3-under-par mark after a second round 1-under-par score of 70. Ryan Siegler, the defending Champion, found himself only two shots back after an even-par performance in Round Two.
Hoffman slipped six positions down the leaderboard after the second round after shooting an even-par round of 71. Hoffman came out of the gates swinging as he eagled No.5 and birdied No. 7 on his way to shooting a 3-under-par front nine total of 33. He added another birdie to his scorecard on No. 11, but he stumbled on No. 13 with a bogey and on No. 16 with a double bogey. At the end of the day, he was tied for 11th place at 2-under-par for the tournament.
The final round on Wednesday brought the heat yet again, but most importantly, it brought the wind. The first group began their round at 7:30 AM, and by that time there was already a 10 MPH breeze. As the final groups made the turn to the back nine, the wind was consistently blowing 20 MPH with gusts reaching 30 MPH. This factor made the leaderboard change every single hole. It was almost a guarantee that the scoreboard would change with new leaders every 15 minutes. As players were coming down the stretch, there were a lot that were looking to make a move, and No. 15 provided them with that opportunity.
The first two rounds of the tournament saw No. 15 playing 372 yards from the back tee box, but in a move to provide more drama in the final holes of the tournament, the tees were moved up for the hole to play 292 yards for the final round. Oddly enough, only two players took advantage of the drivable par 4. Jon Moles and Charlie Bundy both got up and down for birdie from greenside positions to put themselves tied for the lead. Zach Barbin, Alex Hoffman, and Billy Peel all made par on No. 15 and were subsequently one shot back of the lead. By the end of their rounds, they all sat at 4-under-par, and the only thing they could do was sit back and watch the drama unfold.
Moles, who was in the group ahead of Bundy, went on to bogey No. 17 after hitting his approach shot long and left of the green. After making par on No. 18, he found himself at 4-under-par for the tournament, and like Barbin, Hoffman, and Peel, the only thing Moles could do was watch Bundy come in with a one-shot lead. On No. 17, Bundy was just barely in the right rough of the dogleg-left par 4. He hit a good approach shot to the middle of the green, which had a back-right hole location. With around 25 feet for birdie, Bundy left the putt short, and it rolled back to 4 feet. He proceeded to miss the four-foot sliding putt to put him at 4-under-par. He made par on No. 18, and suddenly, there were five people playing for the 103rd Maryland Open title: Barbin, Bundy, Hoffman, Moles, and Peel.
The sudden death playoff began on No. 17. Hoffman and Barbin found the fairway, Bundy and Peel found the rough on the right, and Moles lingered with the hazard down the left but was in play. Hoffman was the only player to hit the green as Peel left himself short sided behind the greenside bunkers, Barbin hit it into the rough past the pin on the right, Moles put himself in the greenside bunker, and Bundy went over the green. Peel hit the flagstick on his third shot, and his ball shot straight into the greenside bunker. He would go on to make triple bogey. Bundy barely snuck his third shot onto the green, and he would eventually two-putt from 25 feet to win the Harry Pitt Low Amateur Award. Barbin hit a flop shot for his third shot, but he left it eight feet short of the hole. He had a testing downhill right-to-left sliding putt, and he left it just a couple of inches short in the heart of the hole before tapping in for bogey. Hoffman had 45 feet for birdie, and he ran the first putt eight feet past the hole. Moles hit his greenside bunker shot to two feet, and the pressure was on Hoffman. He drilled the putt right in the middle of the hole, and Moles tapped in for his par.
With the playoff only consisting of two players after the first hole, No. 18 was waiting. Both Moles and Hoffman hit the green on the par 3, and they both two-putted to send the playoff back to No. 17.
Hoffman hit his tee shot into the right rough, and Moles drilled his tee shot down the middle of the fairway. Hoffman did not have the best lie in the rough, and he was forced to leave his approach short of the green in the fairway. With the advantage in hand, Moles hit a magnificent approach shot that finished 20 feet from the hole. Hoffman hit a low chip that ran out to eight feet left of the hole. Moles hit a putt with good pace that burned the edge of the cup, but it did not drop. With the weight back on his shoulders, Hoffman made the eight-foot putt to keep his championship hopes alive.
Back again standing on the tee box of No. 18, Hoffman decided to hit first. He chunked his tee shot, and it barely got over the hazard and into the left greenside bunker. Hoffman, with the advantage once again, hit his tee shot to the front-middle part of the green. With a long and demanding bunker shot in front of him, Hoffman hit his ball over the other side of the green into the rough. Moles then hit his 25-foot birdie putt three feet past the hole. Hoffman knew that with Moles close to the hole that he had to give his chip shot a chance at making it, and he just barely missed the hole, hitting it two feet past the hole. Moles had three feet to win the title, but he missed the putt on the low side. Hoffman tapped in for bogey, and they made their way back to the tee on No. 18.
Hoffman and Moles hit their tee shots rather conservatively to the left side of the green. Moles was left with a 40-foot birdie putt on the back-left portion of the green, and Hoffman was left with a 30-foot birdie putt directly left of the hole. Moles elected to leave the flagstick in for his putt due to its length, but it ended up serving as a backboard as his ball hit the middle of the flagstick and dropped down into the hole for birdie. He gave a massive fist pump and a shout of excitement as he thought that putt could have just won him the State Open. Once more, the pressure was on Hoffman. Unlike Moles, Hoffman took the flagstick out for his putt. After he hit his putt, you could hear the crowd saying, “Go, go,” as they thought Hoffman left the putt short. On the last rotation, the ball dripped into the hole, and there was another fist pump and scream of excitement.
The players walked back to the tee box on No. 18 one more time. Hoffman, yet again, decided to hit first, and he hit a beautiful tee shot that ended up 15 feet from the hole. Moles left his tee shot out to the right of the green, and it landed in the short-right greenside bunker. For the first time since the first playoff hole, Hoffman seemed to have the advantage. Moles hit his bunker shot 20 feet past the hole and just barely missed his par putt. Hoffman left his birdie putt six inches short and tapped in for par to win the 103rd Maryland State Open.
The Maryland State Golf Association would like to thank Talbot CC for being such generous and amazing hosts for this championship.
