College Park, MD – The 67th Maryland Pro-Amateur Championship was held at the University of Maryland Golf Course on July 15, 2024. On one of the hottest summer days, Zach Lese and Josh Williamowsky (Olney Golf Park, Woodmont Country Club) were the top duo in the field. Lese and Williamowsky shot a 9-under-par round of 62 to put them at the top of the leaderboard, but they were not the only ones to go that low. The team of Ryan Siegler and Alex Church (Eagle’s Nest Country Club, Baltimore Country Club) and the team of Daniel Bengston and James Milam (Bethesda Country Club) also shot 9-under-par rounds.
Lese and Williamowsky started their round off slowly with four straight pars, but then they birdied Nos. 5, 7, and 9 to shoot 32 on the front nine. After they made the turn, they caught fire on Nos. 11, 12, and 13 by making three straight birdies, and they pulled off another hat trick of birdies on Nos. 15, 16, and 17 to shoot 30 on the back nine.Siegler and Church started with three straight pars but followed those with four consecutive birdies. After making par on No. 8, they made another birdie on No. 9 to shoot 30 (-5) on the front nine. They sprinkled in four birdies with the five pars they made on the back nine to shoot 32. Bengston and Milam made two birdies in their first six holes, but then they turned on the jets on Nos. 7, 8, and 9 by making three straight birdies to shoot 30 (-5) on the front nine. Similarly to Siegler and Church, Bengston and Milam made four birdies and five pars on the back nine to shoot 32 and get into the playoff at 9-under-par.
With a thunderstorm approaching, the three teams started the playoff on No. 10. Lese and Williamowsky, Bengston and Milam, made birdies, but Siegler and Church made par, bowing out after the first hole. The two remaining teams made pars on Nos. 11 & 12, but then the thunderstorm rolled in. After 45 minutes of waiting, the teams got back out to the tee box on No. 13. After ripping a drive down the middle of the fairway, Zach Lese hit his second shot just off the green on the par 5. With everyone else putting for birdie, Lese stepped up to a 46-foot eagle putt and drained it for the win.
The Maryland State Golf Association would like to thank the University of Maryland Golf Course for hosting the 67th Maryland Pro-Amateur Championship so graciously.
