All three players who qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur Monday at the Fox Hill Club in Longmont felt they had something to prove.
And though that “something” was different in each case, prove it they did.
Subin Lee of Englewood, Coby Welch of Highlands Ranch and Davis Bryant of Aurora landed the three available berths — out of a field of 71 — for the Junior Am, which is set for July 20-25 in Bluffton, S.C.
As for Monday being a proving ground of sorts:
— For Lee, it was a chance to take his next big step in golf, a game he’s played for only four years.
— For Welch, it was about prevailing in a playoff after being the odd man out a couple of times in sudden death recently.
— And for Bryant, it was an opportunity to go from a promising young junior golfer to making a definitive mark as a 15-year-old.
Lee, a 17-year-old senior-to-be at Cherry Creek High School, matched par over 36 holes with consecutive rounds of 70 to earn medalist honors by three strokes.
“This means a lot for me,” said Lee, who carded six birdies and six bogeys on Monday, in addition to chipping in for par from 30 yards on his 34th hole of the day. “For the Junior Am last year, I really wanted to qualify (but came up short). So winning this was kind of big for me.
“Today I was just trying to make pars and sometimes birdies would go in. I was pretty happy about that.”
Monday marked the second significant national tournament Lee has qualified for in June, coming on the heels of the golfer from CommonGround advancing to the Optimist Junior national championships.
Four players tied for second place at 3-over-par 143, putting them into a playoff for the final two national berths. Welch, winner of the 2014 CJGA Tournament of Champions, chipped in from 17 feet for birdie on the second extra hole to advance.
“That felt good, especially after making two bogeys on my last three holes (of regulation, with a birdie in between),” Welch said. “That was my chip. I always do good on those chips.
“I thought my (approach) shot was all over the pin, but it came up short. I was like, ‘All right, I’m going to chip this one in and win it right here.’ That was my shot.” (Welch, in red, is pictured at left celebrating afterward.)
As for Bryant, after keeping his hopes alive by making a 15-foot par putt on the second playoff hole, he gained the last national spot when he drained a 10-foot birdie putt (below) on his 39th hole of the day. He had missed a similar birdie putt on the same hole to start the playoff.
“I said, ‘I can’t give up until the last putt drops,'” said Bryant, the boys 14-15 Colorado/Wyoming district champ in the Optimist Junior tourney. “I just kept believing. It was a great day of golf, so much fun.
“This is definitely my biggest accomplishment in golf. It’s going to be a very fun ride home for sure.”
Like many in the field, Bryant had plenty of support at Fox Hill. His dad, Matt, the general manager and director of golf at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver, followed him all day. And LindaSue Chenoweth, the 2014 women’s club champion at Fox Hill and a former chief operations officer for the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, served as Bryant’s caddie.
“That was a little home-course advantage, which was nice,” Davis Bryant said after a day which included four birdies, 29 pars and six bogeys.
It will be the first USGA championship for all three qualifiers. Welch, 17, is a senior-to-be at Valor Christian, and Bryant is a sophomore-to-be at Eaglecrest.
Jackson Solem, competing in his hometown of Longmont, and Ji Jang of Aurora ended up as the first and second alternates at Fox Hill, respectively, after being the odd men out in the playoff.
U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying
At Par-70 Fox Hill Club in Longmont
Qualified for National Championship
Subin Lee, Englewood, Colo. 70-70–140
Coby Welch, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 72-71–143
Davis Bryant, Aurora, Colo. 72-71–143
Alternates (In Order)
Jackson Solem, Longmont, Colo. 69-74–143
JI Jang, Aurora, Colo. 71-72–143
Failed to Qualify
Isaac Petersilie, Colorado Springs, Colo. 73-71–144
Cole Krantz, Windsor, Colo. 74-71–145
Aj Ott, Fort Collins, Colo. 72-73–145
Troy Dangler, Grand Junction, Colo. 73-73–146
Griffin Barela, Lakewood, Colo. 74-72–146
Daniel Pearson, Longmont, Colo. 75-72–147
Sam Taylor, Nederland, Colo. 73-75–148
Josh Caridi, Fort Collins, Colo. 77-72–149
Timothy Amundson, Littleton, Colo. 74-75–149
Barrett Jones, Edwards, Colo. 74-76–150
Glen-Michael Mihavetz, Montrose, Colo. 76-74–150
Chadd Vasquez, Colorado Springs, Colo. 74-76–150
Hunter Paugh, Fort Collins, Colo. 74-78–152
Cooper Taylor, Superior, Colo. 80-72–152
Jake Gannon, Longmont, Colo. 72-80–152
Carlos Vazquez, Atizapan Estado, Mexico 73-79–152
Kyle Pearson, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 76-76–152
Ryan Zetwick, Castle Rock, Colo. 81-72–153
Kevin Liao, Littleton, Colo. 77-77–154
David Leede, Greenwood Village, Colo. 77-77–154
Will Firestone, Steamboat Springs, Colo. 79-76–155
Jackson Crist, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 79-76–155
Roger Nakagawa, Denver, Colo. 78-77–155
Lenny Urbas, Evergreen, Colo. 77-78–155
Chase Federico, Pueblo, Colo. 81-75–156
Oliver Jack, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 78-78–156
Will Hazen, Aspen, Colo. 79-77–156
Austin Hardman, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 80-76–156
Zachary Gomez, Westminster, Colo. 75-81–156
Andrew McCormick, Denver, Colo. 78-79–157
Tyler Zhang, Lone Tree, Colo. 82-76–158
Ryan Pearson, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 84-74–158
Cade Kilkenny, Centennial, Colo. 80-78–158
Matthew Heesemann, Johnstown, Colo. 74-84–158
Brittain Walton, Steamboat Springs, Colo. 81-78–159
Luke Travins, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80-79–159
Zachary Zurcher, Parker, Colo. 78-81–159
Nick Leibold, Littleton, Colo. 77-83–160
Ryan Kropp, Brighton, Colo. 82-79–161
Braden Bentley, Colorado Springs, Colo. 83-78–161
Jaxon Franklin, Broomfield, Colo. 81-80–161
Nicholas Michas, Golden, Colo. 77-86–163
Bennett Rogers, Centennial, Colo. 85-78–163
Jack Castiglia, Lakewood, Colo. 78-85–163
Nishant Datta, Broomfield, Colo. 85-79–164
Ethan Ashbrook, Santa Maria, Calif. 81-83–164
Ivan Richmond, Estes Park, Colo. 82-82–164
Reese Leiker, Littleton, Colo. 85-80–165
Logan Gorman, Colorado Springs, Colo. 82-83–165
Cole Chalmers, Denver, Colo. 81-84–165
Mathew Casias, Pueblo, Colo. 81-84–165
Jack Marty, Longmont, Colo. 83-86–169
Kyle Huber, Larkspur, Colo. 87-83–170
Brandon Bervig, Colorado Springs, Colo. 82-88–170
Preston Ewing, Pueblo West, Colo. 85-86–171
Christopher Dennis, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 84-88–172
Charlie Schneider, Lone Tree, Colo. 88-84–172
Luke Thomson, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 86-87–173
Hayden Smith, Greenwood Village, Colo. 83-95–178
Josh Pusar, Castle Rock, Colo. 88-90–178
Cameron Nagel, Fort Collins, Colo. 91-93–184
Hill Washburne, Dallas, Texas 86-WD–WD
Evan Malloy, Denver, Colo. WD
Ryan Zoellner, Centennial, Colo. WD
Trevor Olkowski, Grand Junction, Colo. WD
Hunter Tuite, Englewood, Colo. WD
