Austin Greaser wins Western Amateur

Writing from Highland Park, Illinois

Saturday, July 6, 2022

As Austin Greaser tells it, he was 45 minutes from going down the highway on Thursday night, Exmoor Country Club in his rear-view mirror, before the misfortune of two other players created a 7-for-2 playoff for the Sweet Sixteen of the 120th Western Amateur.

Greaser was the first of the two survivors to match play, and Saturday ended up the last man standing. A 21-year-old native of Vandalia, Ohio and senior at North Carolina, Greaser won the championship with a dramatic back-nine rally featuring some of the sharpest golf the venerable competition has seen in years.

Greaser, 2 down to Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira of Argentina and the Arkansas Razorbacks after three holes, 1 down at the turn and 2 down again after 11 holes, won four straight holes with birdies, then withstood a final rally by the plucky Argentinian to score a 1 up victory.

“I hit some really nice shots and got some putts to go, and guess that was the deciding factor,” Greaser said.

It was, after one more twist. Greaser gave Fernandez de Oliveira an opening by parring the 17th hole when Fernandez de Oliveira drilled an approach to four feet and made birdie to close the gap to 1 down. Each hit the fairway on the 18th, then Fernandez de Oliveira dropped his approach 12 feet from a bunker-guarded cup, and Greaser bounced his approach into the rough behind the green.

He had hit the previous 16 greens in regulation and had putted from the right fringe on the first hole. By his standards, this was a wild shot. Now he had to get up-and-down for par and hope Fernandez de Oliveira missed his birdie chance to force extra holes.

Greaser’s flop shot stopped about four feet from the cup. Fernandez de Oliveira stepped up and gave it a good look but ran his putt three feet by. Greaser sank the par putt, punctuating it with a mini fist-pump with his left hand. Minutes later, that hand had the George Thorne Trophy in its grasp.

Greaser was non-plussed by Fernandez de Oliveira holing out from a bunker to win the third hole and go 2 up in the match.

“Not to brag, but I holed out from bunkers twice against Michael Thorbjornsen in last year’s semifinals,” he said, not needing to say that Thorbjornsen won that match and went on to win the title at Glen View Club.

“Like I told everybody, I just kept trying to execute my game plan,” Greaser added.

Clearly, Greaser did not arrive at Exmoor fresh off the pickle boat. Along with last year’s Western Am experience, he was runner-up in last year’s U.S. Amateur. That got him into the Masters and U.S. Open, and he made the cut in the latter. Plus, he won the individual title in the NCAA Regional North Carolina played in.

Now, he’s won one of the biggest titles in world amateur golf.

“I almost teared up on the green,” Greaser said. “You lose in this and you’re hungry to go back in and play an hour later. Winning it makes he want to go win more.

“I’m proud to be part of the history of one of the great tournaments as the champion. It means the world to me.”

Reminded of some of the winners of the Western Amateur, including fellow Ohioan Jack Nicklaus, Greaser said, “For me to kiss the same trophy is unbelievable.”

Greaser’s day started with a bang-up finish to his semifinal match against William Mouw. Greaser led 1 up at the turn, watched Mouw square the match with a birdie at the par-5 12th, then played his last three holes birdie-eagle-birdie to close Mouw out, 3 and 2.

“I felt like I hit it well, got kinda cold in the middle of the round, cold meaning pars, then caught a heater at the end. This afternoon, being 1 down going into the back nine with Mateo, I knew it was out there,” Greaser said of his birdie potential on Exmoor’s inward half.

Fernandez de Oliveira had no defense for Greaser’s blitz: a 35-footer from the back of the green for a deuce on the 12th; a 6-footer for birdie on the par-4 13th; a conceded 10-footer for a deuce on the 14th after Fernandez de Oliveira botched his second shot; and a 40-foot two-putt for birdie on the par-5 15th.

The quartet of birds moved Greaser from 2 down to 2 up. After the duo matched par at the 16th, Greaser was dormie 2. Fernandez de Oliveira had to win the last two holes to stay alive.

He won the 17th, but Greaser’s resolute par at the last settled the issue.

“I played very good in the morning,” Fernandez de Oliveira said of his 2 and 1 victory over Travis Vick. “I was lucky enough to get that bunker shot on 17 to close it out (over Vick), and I gave myself a chance in the final.

“I gave it a run,” Fernandez de Oliveira said of the final. “I gave it a good run. He hit the shots he needed to hit at the right time on the back nine. After going to 16, I didn’t think I had a real good chance, but I was lucky enough to make a putt (on 17) and get to 18 and try to tie it. Austin’s a great player, a great guy, and he got it done.”

The players traded 10 birdies across the 18 holes, with only a pair of bogeys, both by Fernandez de Oliveira. Greaser went around Exmoor in 5-under 66, Fernandez de Oliveira in 3-under 68, with the usual concessions.

Semifinal Matches

Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira d. Travis Vick, 2 & 1

Austin Greaser d. William Mouw, 3 & 2

Championship Match

Greaser d. Fernandez de Oliveira, 1 up

Around Exmoor

Greaser’s belt broke when he lashed his approach shot out of the rough on the 17th hole of the title match. … Both Greaser and Fernandez de Oliveira are headed to the U.S. Amateur. … Greaser played 68 match-play holes and 140 overall in five days, while Fernandez de Oliveira played 66 and 138, respectively. … About 400 spectators, many of them Exmoor members, watched the final match in person. More had the opportunity to watch online through the Western Amateur website from the start and on the Golf Channel website after a snafu was rectified in a production much-improved from the original at Sunset Ridge in 2019, and above last year’s as well.

– Tim Cronin

Vick new favorite after upsets at Western Amateur

Writing from Highland Park, Illinois

Friday, August 5, 2022

Match play golf plays no favorites. Make too many mistakes, or run into a hot player, and you’re going home.

The 120th Western Amateur’s defending champion and its medalist found that out Friday at Exmoor Country Club. Michael Thorbjornsen, the winner last year at Glen View Club, was bounced in the morning, and medalist Ross Steelman was summarily dismissed in the afternoon quarterfinals after holding a 4-up lead at the turn.

“I was literally booking my plane ticket after nine,” said Travis Vick, Steelman’s conquerer by a 2 and 1 margin.

Vick, a senior at Texas, was all over the map on the front nine, including playing a shot from between the Oakhouse, used for curling and tennis, and some tennis courts back to the ninth green. But on the back nine, he found fairways and greens and Steelman found trouble, including drowning his tee shot on the par-3 12th.

Vick ended up making five birdies in eight holes on the back nine, squaring the match on the 14th hole and winning with a birdie on the par-4 17th. The surprise wasn’t that the low amateur in this year’s U.S. Open and a second-team NCAA All-America won, but how.

The Houston native will play Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira of Argentina, an Arkansas Razorback, in Saturday’s first semifinal. Fernandez de Oliveira beat Cole Sherwood, 2 and 1, after routing Yuxin Lin, the Florida Gator hailing from Beijing, China, 6 and 4, in the morning.

Austin Greaser of Vandalia, Ohio, advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year with a 1 up quarterfinal victory over Kelly Chin of Great Falls, Va. Put another way, North Carolina beat Duke. Greaser plays William Mouw of Chino, Calif., a 1 up winner over  Pepperdine teammate Derek Hitchner.

Mouw broke away with a 15-foot eagle putt on the 15th and a two-putt par from the same distance on No. 16, then hung up with a 55-foot two-putt at the last, the second from about seven feet, after Hitchner birdied the 17th.

“I was going to do whatever it took to win,” Mouw said. “I know what Derek’s capable of doing. I knew it was going to take some really good golf to come down and win it. I’ll take that last putt.”

The morning Sweet Sixteen, aside from seeing Thorbjornsen ousted, 4 and 3, by Cole Sherwood, also featured the three members of Illinois’ golf team dealt losses.

Tommy Kuhl of downstate Morton lasted the longest, falling 2 up to Vick in a match where Vick birdied seven of the first 11 holes, then saw Kuhl penalized and lost the hole because his ball moved on the collar of the 12th green when he put his putter down. Kuhl then rallied to close a 4-down gap to 1-down on the 18th tee, but an errant drive at the last cost him.

“It was a tough draw, and that’s all part of it,” Kuhl said. “He has quote the resume, and he played well today. I’m just glad I fought hard and had a chance.

“I was not too happy after (the penalty). Just tried to make some birdies and I did.”

The highlight of that run was his third shot on the par-5 15th, a gouged wedge from a horrible lie to two feet for a birdie to win the hole, cutting Vick’s lead to 2 up. Kuhl won the 16th as well, but halved the 17th and lost the last.

Still, he found something in the effort that can carry him to the U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay later this month.

“It was a fun week; glad to be here,” Kuhl said.

Steelman knocked out Illini Adrien Dumont de Chassart, 5 and 4, and Austin Greaser beat incoming Illini transfer Matthus Besard, 3 and 2, to complete the wipeout of the Champaign-based contingent.

Sweet Sixteen Results

Ross Steelman d. Adrien Dumont de Chassart, 5 & 4

Travis Vick d. Tommy Kuhl, 2 up

Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira d. Yuxin Lin, 6 & 4

Cole Sherwood d. Michael Thorbjornsen, 4 & 3

Austin Greaser d. Matthus Besard, 3 & 2

Kelly Chinn d. Ricky Castillo, 6 & 5

William Mouw d. Spencer Tibbetts, 3 & 2

Derek Hitchner d. Connor Mckinney, 21 holes

Quarterfinal Results

Vick d. Steelman, 2 & 1

Fernandez de Oliveira d. Sherwood, 3 & 1

Greaser d. Chinn, 1 up

Mouw d. Hitchner, 1 up

Saturday Semifinals

8 a.m. – Vick vs. Fernandez de Oliveira

8:12 a.m. – Greaser vs. Mouw

Around Exmoor

Golf Channel’s TV stream, available at the Western Amateur and Golf Channel websites, starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Friday, neither the morning nor afternoon telecast carried through to the conclusion of the last match. … Admission is free. Friday’s gallery probably numbered at least 800, with people coming and going all day. 

– Tim Cronin

Steelman medalist in wild Western Amateur

Writing from Highland Park, Illinois

Thursday, August 4, 2022

In a few years, what Ross Steelman accomplished on Thursday would be accompanied by a trophy ceremony and an oversized check late on a Sunday afternoon. Streelman beat a field of 155 other players to the finish line in the 120th Western Amateur – sorry, no check – with a 72-hole score of 14-under-par 270 at Exmoor Country Club, including Thursday’s 36-hole grind that produced rounds of 66 and 68.

But while leading the stroke-play portion of the Western Am gets you a trophy and a handshake, Steelman is only halfway home. After winning in the equivalent of a PGA Tour weekend – and many of these players will be playing for cash within a few years, if not weeks – the competition is only beginning.

The Western Am has the most formidable schedule in golf. On Friday morning, Steelman and 15 other worthies commence match-play eliminations. The Sweet Sixteen round in the morning, quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, the semifinals on Saturday morning, and finally two players will remain on Saturday afternoon to scrap for the grand title.

“It’s a tough three days,” Steelman said. “I’m really happy to medal. I played really solidly and am happy to come out on top against the best 156 amateurs in the world.

“It’s a long week. I like match play a lot. You can make a 12 and it doesn’t hurt you. It’s a different pace.”

Among those advancing was defending champion Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Mass., who scored 7-under 277, and Ricky Castillo of Yorba Linda, Calif., making his fourth straight Sweet Sixteen appearance after posting 8-under 276. Castillo made it to the semifinals in 2019 and 2020 but was knocked out by Thorbjornsen in last year’s quarterfinals.

Tommy Kuhl of downstate Morton and Illinois’ golf team, the runner-up in the Illinois Amateur, tied for fourth at 9-under 275, and says he can flip the switch from stroke play to match play.

“ I’ve got to be ready for tomorrow,” Kuhl said. “It doesn’t really matter (who the opponent is). I’ve just got to go out and do my thing.

“My game feels the best it ever has. I’m playing more confidently than I have all summer and even last year. Been struggling with my ball-striking. Usually that’s my strength. This week I just decided to trust it, and I’m hitting it so good off the tee.”

The playoff for the final two spots began with seven players who deadlocked at 6-under 278 and still featured a quartet, Austin Greaser, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Gordon Sargent and Ian Siebers, after three sudden-death holes. Greaser advanced on the fourth hole, and some 30 minutes after the 8:04 p.m. sunset, Dumont de Chassart advanced on the seventh extra hole via a 20-foot birdie putt.

His survival places three Fighting Illini players in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2014 at Beverly Country Club. He would join Kuhl and transfer Matthis Besard, like Dumont de Chassart from Belgium.

Cohen Trolio, John Butler and Patrick Welch were eliminated on the first two holes.

Sweet Sixteen Pairings

8 a.m. – Ross Steelman vs. Adrien Dumont de Chassart

8:12 a.m. – Tommy Kuhl vs. Travis Vick

8:24 a.m. – Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira vs. Yuxin Lin

8:36 a.m. – Cole Sherwood vs. Michael Thorbjornsen

8:48 a.m. – Matthis Besard vs. Austin Greaser

9 a.m. – Kelly Chinn vs. Ricky Castillo

9:12 a.m. – William Mouw vs. Spencer Tibbits

9:24 a.m. – Derek Hitchner vs. Connor McKinney

Around Exmoor

Among those missing the cut of 6-under 278: 2019 champion Garrett Rank, the NHL referee and Illinois Amateur champion Mac McClear of Hinsdale. In McClear’s case, the next stop is the U.S. Amateur. … The elite quality of the field is shown by the four-round scoring average of 72.46 on the par 71 layout. Fourteen holes played over par, but all three par-5s were under par, defenseless again the length of the modern player. … A majority of players and caddies word blue ribbons on their hats or caddie bibs as a show of support for the Highland Park community, wracked by the shooting at the Fourth of July parade a month ago.

– Tim Cronin

Perkins holds off Chopra for Illinois Open title

Writing from Naperville, Illinois

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

When David Perkins got to his ball in the rough behind the par-5 17th hole at windblown White Eagle Golf Club, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“The lie wasn’t horrible, but grass was going three different ways,” Perkins said.

At that second, Perkins led the 73rd Illinois Open by a stroke over a crowd, including Daniel Hudson and Ethan Farnam, who had finished. He needed to get down in no worse than par.

Earlier, he’d been faced with a similar lie behind the 11th green, and had salvaged par with a deft chip from a tossed salad of a lie to within a foot on a green sloping away from him. Now he had to do so again, and on his first shot following a delay for a quick-moving lightning storm which had doused the course. He was 30 yards from the cup.

Perkins played the shot deftly, to within a few feet, and sank the putt for a crucial birdie en route to his first victory as a professional.

“I was so short-sided … the rain could have helped me up, could have been a blessing,” Perkins said. “I had (the wedge) pretty wide open, and at the last second, I closed it up a bit for safety. It came out perfect. It was an awkward lie. I was a guess. I knew if I left it short, I’m going to make this tournament really close, and if I didn’t, I’m going to make par at the worst. That shot was huge.”

His par on the 18th earned him a 2-under-par 70, a total of 6-under 210, a stroke ahead of runner-up Varun Chopra of Champaign, who birdied the last two holes for 70 and 211.

It also earned Perkins $23,168. The East Peorian is the first downstate player to win the Illinois Open since Brad Benjamin of Rockford captured the 2009 edition.

“Technically, it doesn’t get you any (tour) status, but confidence, belief, those aspects of being a professional – that’s what it’s about,” Perkins said. “It gives me confidence going into Q school, no matter what level, Korn Ferry, PGA, whatever I’m doing.”

Perkins’ scholarly chipping showed that great touch combined with steely nerve can win the day.

“It just played hard every day, so it was keeping myself in it, knowing if I kept missing in the right spots and hitting golf shots, I could be in it,” Perkins said. “I knew I wasn’t going to be hitting every green.”

When he didn’t, he generally made the play that saved par on a tough test.

Low amateur Marcus Smith Jr. of Rockford was also in the mix, tied with Perkins at 5-under after the 13th, where Perkins’ poor tee shot led to a bogey while Smith, fighting through a sore finger on his right hand, drilled his approach within eight feet and sank the birdie putt for the tie.

“I could see (the leader board), but that’s one thing I’ve been trying to work on, seeing the score and not letting it effect me, because at the end of the day, I can’t do anything about his score,” Smith said. “But I definitely took a look at it."

Smith’s 1-under 71 featured five birdies and two double-bogeys, one of which was on the par-4 16th, which put Perkins in front for good. Eliminate one of the doubles and he and Perkins are in a playoff.

“Like I said from the beginning, it was mental-mental-mental,” Smith said. “Staying positive, because I knew it was going to get difficult. It’s the final round and you want to put some pressure on the leader, but at the same time, you want to be smart.

“I couldn’t be happier about the way I played. It’s a tough loss, because I was right there, but that’s three rounds under par, and my sixth round in as many days (including the Rockford city championship) and all six are par or better. So I’ve had a good week.”

While the final group was jousting with each other, Hudson, a 27-year-old Chicagoan, was racing into a tie for third with a course-record-tying 7-under 65. His bogey-free circuit brought the erstwhile Kansas Jayhawk to 4-under 212, matching Ethan Farnam and Smith, improving his position 23 places from Tuesday.

Hudson, a frequent player of always-windy Chicago Highlands when he’s not on the mini-tours, opened on White Eagle’s back nine in 3-under 33. Then, “I wanted to see how low I could go,” he said of his final nine. “I didn’t make a putt the first two days. When I made by first two birdies early in the round, I got my confidence back.”

Birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6 followed, and got him to one off the lead when Perkins, Gannon and Smith shared it. Then Perkins birdied No. 17 to knock the 4-unders from contention.

Around White Eagle

There isn’t a senior division, but Roy Biancalana, 62, tied for seventh place at 2-under 214, a remarkable performance. Biancalana was first in Illinois Open contention in 1985, when he tied for second behind Gary Pinns. Biancalana won the title in 1987, won again in 2001 after leaving golf to become a minister, and tied for 14th last year, after coming back from a stint as a life coach. An example of what perseverance, weight training and winter workouts will do to keep one’s self sharp, he earned $3,725. … Perkins’ victory was his second in a state major. He also won the 2019 CDGA Championship, an amateur match-play affair. … The record purse totaled $120,122, with more than 90 percent coming from entry fees. … The field averaged 74.15 strokes in the final round. … Drew Shepherd, a first-round co-leader, closed with a flourish, eagling the par-4 18th for 1-under 71 and 1-under 215. … Next year’s Illinois Open is at Flossmoor Golf Club.

– Tim Cronin

Perkins paces Illinois Open entering final round

Writing from Naperville, Illinois

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

There was a time when the Illinois Open leader board would be crowded with club pros, both head and assistant, plus an amateur or two.

The amateurs are there, but the club pros, the veterans who give lessons and work behind the counter more hours than they envisioned growing up, aren’t on the first page of the standings any more.

They’ve been replaced by the up-and-comers, the college students who hope for tour glory some day and those recently graduated who are chasing it.

Wednesday’s final threesome for the 73rd Illinois Open is the prototype for the current era. David Perkins and Varun Chopra, both in the larval stages of their professional careers, and college amateur Marcus Smith Jr., will tee it up at White Eagle Golf Club, each hoping to lift the old trophy at the end of the day.

Perkins, a former CDGA Amateur winner from East Peoria who is fresh out of Illinois State, is at 4-under 140 after a 3-under 69 in the heat of the afternoon. Chopra, a Champaign native who played for Illinois, and then a year at Northwestern while pursuing a graduate degree in sports administration, also scored 69 for 3-under 141. Each is also looking to snag the first prize of at least $20,000 from the record purse of $125,000. Smith, the Rockford standout headed to Howard University for his junior year in the fall, added a 1-under 71 to his opening 70 for 141. As an amateur, he would gladly settle for holding the trophy.

All three players are from well outside the immediate Chicago area, as is Luke Gannon of Mahomet, one of two players at 2-under 142 following a 4-under 68. Of the top five, only Anthony Albano Jr. of Park Ridge, who matched Gannon’s 68, is a Chicagoland resident.

Brad Benjamin of Rockford was the last downstate winner, at Hawthorn Woods Country Club in 2009.

Perkins said the conditions were among the most difficult he’s dealt with.

“I like it when it’s hard; it eliminates some of the field,” Perkins said. “I have no experience with PGA Tour or championship golf, but it’s got all those attributes.”

Nonetheless, Perkins birdied five holes, including the inward par-5s, Nos. 14 and 17, coming in, and had only two bogeys compared to Monday’s four blemishes.

“I made good shots coming in to make pars,” Perkins said.

Chopra’s 69 featured a quartet of birdies across six holes on the back nine, including a 15-footer for a 3 on the par-4 15th. Even a bogey at the last occasioned by a watery tee shot didn’t dampen his mood.

“I played pretty good; I haven’t played great yet,” Chopra said. “I had a good stretch there.”

Chopra is working through a swing change but tries not to think about it on the course.

“You play golf, try to be creative,” Chopra said of his mindset.

Smith, following his opening 70 with a 1-under 71 to reach 141, closed his round with a splendid par save on the ninth hole. Bunkered off the tee, he opened up a 9-iron and slammed the ball to the back of the uphill green, from where he two-putted for a par 4. He had faced a similar lie in a bunker on No. 4, played a similar shot, and filed the experience away.

This is Smith’s second tournament at White Eagle this season. Clearly, he’s using the experience gained in the Mid-American Conference championship, where he finished tied for 26th at 13-over 229, to good effect.

“That helped me a lot,” Smith said. “I learned a lot about the course: Where to hit it and where the misses are. Where can I miss it and still be in good position. Knowing that gives me a lot of confidence on the tee, because if it doesn’t go exactly how I want it, I can have a spot to miss it and still be fine.

“And the conditions were a lot tougher during the MAC. It windy and it was cold, so the ball didn’t go as far.”

Gannon, whose second place finish last year makes him the highest returning player with winner Tim “Tee-K” Kelly on the Korn Ferry Tour, birdied three of the last five holes to race home with his 68. But he didn’t think it spectacular.

“A lot of good two-putts,” Gannon said. “The pins are definitely tucked.”

Gannon got experience with that in June, when he played in the U.S. Open at The Country Club, where he had one nine of 1-under but missed the cut.

Pierre Grieve of Lake Forest is among the elites tied for sixth at 1-under 143, and took that position with a 2-under 70. His round was marked by a 150-yard 8-iron to three feet for a kick-in birdie on the eighth hole and a two-putt birdie after driving the green on the 330-yard 10th hole.

“It was a pretty stress-free round; a lot of 3-irons off the tee,” said Grieve, entering his sophomore year at Louisville, and who, in trying to qualify for the Western Amateur, didn’t play a practice round at White Eagle.

Around White Eagle

The cut came at 6-over 150, advancing 56 players to Wednesday’s final round, including Tim Puetz of Deer Park Golf Club in Peru, who was in the next-to-last group and birdied his last hole, the par-4 ninth, to squeeze in. … Final round tee times have been moved up to dodge potential threatening weather in the late afternoon. Players will commence in threesomes beginning at 8 a.m. off both tees. … Monday’s unrecognized highlight was the ace authored by Reece Bartlet of Warrenville on the 150-yard fifth hole. The first round scoring average on the par 72 course was 78.15 strokes, with the field improving to 75.82 strokes in the second round.

– Tim Cronin