Thorbjornsen runs the Western Am table

Writing from Golf, Illinois

Saturday, July 31, 2021

Michael Thorbjornsen ran the table at the Glen View Club this week, doing everything but crashing the Saturday night wedding reception.

The 19-year-old will have to settle for setting the course record – 62 – winning the stroke-play medal and capturing the 119th Western Amateur through four difficult matches, the last a 4 and 3 victory over Gordon Sargent.

And what does a champion teen golfer do to celebrate? He and his caddie will trek downtown on Sunday to take in Lollapalooza.

The 27th medalist to win the title and first since co-medalist Cole Hammer in 2018, Thorbjornsen, from Wellesley, Mass., closed out Sargent with a 35-foot two-putt on the 15th green, but he really won the title by winning the 11th, 12th and 13th holes with birdies to forge a 4-up lead. He was 4-under across 15 holes, including the usual concessions.

“I was 3-up through eight; it’s always nice to have that cushion,” Thorbjornsen said. “Then he won nine and 10 and you can kind of feel the momentum switch. He’s starting to build some confidence, but I’ve got to remember I’m still leading.”

He ran down a 12-foot downhill putt for birdie on the par-3 11th to take the momentum back, then dropped his approach on the par-4 12th to two feet for another birdie, then sank a 8-footer for a birdie 4 on the 550-yard 13th. With that, the Stanford sophomore all but sealed the fate of Sargent, a two-time Alabama Amateur champ from Birmingham who enters Vanderbilt this fall.

“Gordon got a little unlucky with his tee shot (on No. 12),” Thorbjornsen said.

“I never had too much momentum,” Sargent said. “I kinda gave him some holes. He made a great birdie on 11 and I gave him 12; I tried to lay up and I hit a 5-iron 240. From there, I really struggled. And he played really well, so, not much I can do.”

Thorbjornsen came from 1 down with four holes to play to beat Austin Greaser 2 up in the morning semifinal, which was not only dramatic, but gave him momentum after lunch.

“Those last three holes against Austin were pretty heated,” Thorbjornsen said. “I guess that flowed over. I was pretty zoned in, focused, and tried to keep that same mentality in the afternoon.

“I hit some good drives when I needed to, good irons, good chips, and had some good lag putting.”

Sargent knocked off defending champion and world No. 2 Pierceson Coody 1 up in his morning semifinal. That and his appearance in the championship match might persuade the USGA to award Sargent one of the five remaining places in the U.S. Amateur, slated for a fortnight from now. He went into the Western Am 64th in the world amateur rankings. Thorbjornsen came in 71st.

“These’s nothing negative you’re going to take away from this week,” Sargent said. “There are only positives I can take. This is probably the best amateur field, and I still beat a lot of good players.”

Thorbjornsen collected a miniature of the George Thorne Trophy, the traditional gold medal, the medalist’s plate, and one more thing he might be too busy for. The Western Am winner also gets an exemption into the Evans Scholars Invitational on the Korn Ferry Tour. That’s usually on Memorial Day weekend, but Vanderbilt might be involved in NCAA Tournament play that week.

– Tim Cronin