You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better conclusion to a mid-amateur event this year than last Saturday’s Stocker Cup at The Preserve Golf Club in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California.
The 54-hole tournament had never witnessed a playoff in its 28 years of prior competition, but Michael Jensen’s sudden-death victory over Jason Anthony changed that in dramatic fashion. The two were among three co-leaders at 7-under as the final round began on the uncompromising layout, but both needed clutch shots down the stretch to return home in even-par 72.
First it was Jensen, the former Cal Golden Bear who reached the semifinals of last year’s San Francisco City Championship in his hometown. Jensen faced a treacherous, downhill 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole but coaxed the ball into the hole as it barely toppled in on its last revolution.
It appeared like that dagger would seal the tournament with a couple of shots to spare as several players failed to make a charge, but Anthony saved his best efforts for the last two holes. Sitting three shots back on the 17th tee, the well-known mid-am from Fairfield, California, made an eagle to cut the deficit to one and then converted a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to send the large crowd into a frenzy.
The players repeated the par-4 18th hole in the playoff. Anthony’s tee shot was in an ideal spot, leaving him a short iron into the green, while Jensen had missed the fairway into the hay. Jensen hacked out just short of the green, leaving him to hope that Anthony wouldn’t make birdie.
And then the unexpected happened. Anthony carried his approach too far, leaving him with a 35-foot birdie putt down a steep slope. He left that putt 10 feet short and couldn’t convert his par attempt. Jensen lagged his putt through the front fringe and left himself with a 3-footer for par that he made to win the tournament.
Jensen credited a new “saw” putting grip for the biggest victory of his mid-am career. His putt on the last hole of regulation will be remembered for many years.
“The last 6 feet, it just starts to get faster,” Jensen said. “I was just trying to roll it down there for a tap-in.”
Joseph Deraney finished solo third, one stroke out of the playoff. Bryan Hoops shared the 36-hole lead before a final-round 74 sent him back to a tie for fourth. John Sawin reached 7-under as he stood on the 13th tee, but he made three bogeys in his last six holes and had to settle for solo sixth.
The Stocker Cup was not contested last year due to the pandemic, but it routinely draws some of the nation’s top mid-amateurs. Similar to the Gasparilla Invitational, mid-ams and senior ams are in the same division and older players have enjoyed success in the past. Hoops, 52, earned the Tatum Cup trophy for low player over age 50.
Results
The LSU women’s golf team and Notre Dame’s men became the first champions of the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, a new college event named in honor of the late Augusta National chairman.
Playing at The Alotian Club in Roland, Arkansas, the event featured 54 holes of stroke play followed by 18 holes of match play, ending last Wednesday. LSU and Notre Dame dominated the stroke play to claim the top seeds.
LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad defeated her teammate Carla Tejedo Mulet in a playoff for the women’s individual title while Mateo Fernández de Oliveira of Arkansas outlasted Notre Dame’s Palmer Jackson in a three-hole playoff to win the men’s side.
LSU defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 4-1 in the championship match, making up for earlier this year when the Tigers missed match play at the NCAA Championship by one stroke.
Notre Dame, which won the 54-hole stroke play by 20 strokes, beat third-ranked Arkansas 4-1.
The event also featured a college-am fundraising tournament the day before competition.
The Stephens Cup will be held at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida, next year. In 2023, Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas, will serve as host.
RESULTS
Staff and Wire Reports