Your 119th United States Amateur champion is small-town kid Andy Ogletree.
Andy was a study in determination Sunday at Pinehurst’s storied No. 2 course during the second 18 holes in his championship match with John Augenstein in a Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt showdown.
The two players tied the first hole in the morning 18 at Pinehurst No. 4 then Andy was getting crushed. Ogletree was a whopping four down after the first five holes and remained that way through seven. The Georgia Tech star was still three-down at the turn but fought his way back and was only two-down after the morning session. The two then headed for No. 2, marking the first time in history the finals were staged over two different courses.
Augenstein held his advantage through most of the final 18, his lead see-sawed between one-up and two-up. The Vandy star was one-up through 27 then won the 10th hole to get back to two-up. Ogletree rallied and won two of the next three holes to square the match for the first time since the first hole.
The match came to a stunning conclusion at the par three 17th. Both players were in good shape. Augenstein was 16 feet away on the fringe, Ogletree just inside him on the green. Augenstein, whose short game carried him all week, inexplicably blew his putt eight feet past the hole. Ogletree nestled his inside two feet for par. Augenstein then missed his par putt badly, going three feet by then missed the bogey putt. The match was then conceded to Ogletree, final score 2-and-1.
Ogletree, a 21-year-old senior at Tech, became the newest winner of the oldest golf championship in the United States. Andy also earned a spot in the 2020 Masters where he will be paired with Tiger Woods.
Not bad for a young man from Little Rock, Mississippi, a town with no stop lights and a population of less than 2,000.
U.S. Amateur Championship Scoreboard:
2 Comments
baxter cepeda
Enjoyed watching the semis and finals on the old dvr.
Tom mentioned in another article players took a long time to hit shots. But this is where pace of play is not always equal.
When two guys have no 2 to themselves it’s somehow ok to take a bit longer.
Imo The coverage had a nice flow; although the sound (Fox) was terrible, not sure about everyone else but The announcers sounded like they were on a loudspeaker. It was weird.
Anyhow congratulations to ogletree. He really was the tortoise, letting patience get the job done starting with that critical make from just off the green on 18. He later up on that par 4. He showed more calm than his competitor even when down. Just a clinical comeback.
Tom Edrington
Love that Havermeyer Trophy!