Wyndham Clark made his U.S. Amateur debut as a 16-year-old in 2010 at Chambers Bay, which would go on to host the 2015 U.S. Open.
And thanks to his performance Monday at Columbine Country Club, he’ll likely make his final U.S. Amateur appearance at Oakland Hills in Michigan, home to six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup over the years.
Clark, the Highlands Ranch resident who twice won the 4A state high school tournament and claimed the 2010 CGA Amateur title as a 16-year-old, had qualified for the U.S. Am four previous times, but wanted to make sure he made it to one more before likely turning pro late next spring following his senior season at the University of Oregon. That’s his new college golf home after playing his previous years at Oklahoma State.
“I’m running out of chances to play in it because I’m looking to turn pro soon,” the 22-year-old said Monday. “It’s definitely important to me. I really wanted to make it, especially not making it last year. It always sucks watching it from a distance. It’ll be nice to be there this time and compete and see where my game is at.”
The 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year joined Tristan Rohrbaugh of Carbondale and Colin Prater of Colorado Springs in punching their tickets to the 116th U.S. Amateur through a 36-hole qualifying tournament at Columbine. While Clark will be going to his eighth USGA championship overall, Rohrbaugh and Prater will be making their USGA championship debuts. (The qualifiers are pictured above, from left: Rohrbaugh, Clark and Prater.)
Rohrbaugh (left), a former 3A state high school champion and a junior-to-be at Boise State, captured medalist honors Monday, shooting rounds of 68-66 for a 10-under-par 134 total. Rohrbaugh holed out from 97 yards for eagle at the par-4 17th hole in the morning and racked up a dozen birdies go along with four bogeys.
Prater, a University of Colorado-Colorado Springs golfer who won the Pikes Peak Amateur on Saturday, went 68-69 to check in at 137. He carded 11 birdies and four bogeys on the day.
Clark matched Prater’s 68-69 day, chalking up an eagle (from 30 feet on his 20th hole of the day), eight birdies and three bogeys overall.
While Clark (left), who’s No. 461 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, overcame a necessary hurdle on Monday, he has bigger things in mind. After all, the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year twice made it to the 64-man match-play bracket in the U.S. Am and would like to be a contender for the title this time around.
“It’s good to be back,” he said. “I love playing that (U.S. Am) tournament. My game is OK right now. I need to hit it a little better. If I hit it good, I know I can play really well. All the guys I play against on a regular basis are the ones that play at the U.S. Am and have a chance to win it. I know I can do that. I just need to get my game in shape and take it to the course and hope that I show up. Once you get into match play, it’s a crapshoot. You can play good and lose and you can play bad and win. The first goal is to get into match play because that’s really where the tournament starts.”
Of course, Rohrbaugh and Prater would like to make some noise on the national stage as well. But the step of qualifying for the U.S. Am for the first time is a major accomplishment in itself.
“It’s pretty cool,” Rohrbaugh said. “It’s cool to even go play that place (Oakland Hills), let alone going to the U.S. Amateur there. I’m pretty excited. It hasn’t really sunk in.”
Said Prater (left): “It’s a dream come true. I think this is the fourth year I’ve tried to qualify for the U.S. Am, and the first time I make it. This is the tournament I circled on the schedule; this was the biggest one. This is what I wanted to peak for.”
For Rohrbaugh, while he will be competing in his first USGA championship, he’s certainly not a stranger to being inside the ropes at such events. He’s caddied at three U.S. Senior Opens for his dad, three-time Colorado PGA Professional Champion Doug Rohrbaugh.
To be sure, though, playing in a national championship — and arguably the most prestigious amateur tournament on the planet — will be unique. That’s why Rohrbaugh had to work to keep his emotions in check on Monday at Columbine.
“I just tried to stay as calm as possible out there, especially coming down the stretch,” he said.
And it seemed to work, as his double-digit-under-par total would indicate.
“I think this was pretty good,” Rohrbaugh said. “I didn’t miss much, and when I did I’d hit it to like 3 feet every time. I had a lot of birdies inside 10 feet (and) probably four or five inside 5 feet. It’s not like I was putting lights out. I was just hitting it good.”
Prater, meanwhile, carried over his strong play from the Pikes Peak Amateur, where he easily prevailed in Saturday’s 36-hole final match to take the title.
“That (win) gave me some confidence coming into this today,” said Prater, who advanced to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying last year.
“Overall today, I made a lot of putts. I think I just had complete control of my game. I hit wedges correct distances, I hit it in the correct spots, I gave myself good looks at birdie. When I missed the green or hit it in the trees, I was able to hit a wedge close. I think that’s what saved me today. I hit a couple balls in the trees. I punched them back into play, hit it inside 15 feet and made the putt or par.”
All told, 75 players competed Monday for the three U.S. Amateur berths.
In the earlier U.S. Amateur qualifier held in Colorado — on July 18 at Fort Collins Country Club — Parker residents Kyler Dunkle and Tanner Jenson, and Colorado State University golfer Colton Yates, punched their tickets to the national championship.
Overall, 312 players will compete in the U.S. Am.
For interactive scores from Monday, CLICK HERE.
U.S. Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 Columbine CC in Columbine Valley
QUALIFIED FOR U.S. AM
Tristan Rohrbaugh, Carbondale, Colo., 68-66–134
Colin Prater, Colorado Springs, Colo., 68-69–137
Wyndham Clark, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 68-69–137
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Ethan Freeman, Denver, Colo., 71-70–141
Christopher Thayer, Denver, Colo., 74-68–142
DID NOT QUALIFY
Easton Paxton, Riverton, Wyo., 73-70–143
Timothy Amundson, Littleton, Colo., 72-72–144
Jake Staiano, Englewood, Colo., 69-76–145
Ryan Schmitz, Littleton, Colo., 71-74–145
Philip Lee, Denver, Colo., 74-74–148
Darrin Hall, Lakewood, Colo., 73-75–148
Spencer Painton, Aurora, Colo., 75-73–148
Jordan McBrayer, Carlsbad, Calif., 74-75–149
Jake Kelley, Littleton, Colo., 76-74–150
Taylor Kennedy, Littleton, Colo., 75-75–150
David Lysaught, Aspen, Colo., 79-71–150
Clayton Crawford, Aspen, Colo., 74-77–151
Benjamin Sherlund, Denver, Colo., 77-74–151
Brittain Walton, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 77-74–151
Sean Crowley, Littleton, Colo., 75-77–152
Brian Dorfman, Denver, Colo., 77-75–152
Mark Zbrzeznj, Edwards, Colo., 78-74–152
Coby Welch, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 78-74–152
John Gorell, Colorado Springs, Colo., 77-77–154
Bradley Phelps, Arvada, Colo., 79-75–154
Clint Miller, Lone Tree, Colo., 80-74–154
Jeff Chapman, Centennial, Colo., 81-74–155
Troy Anderson, Denver, Colo., 78-77–155
Gus Lundquist, Parker, Colo., 79-76–155
Jonathan Doern, Denver, Colo., 75-81–156
Hayden Nicholaides, Englewood, Colo., 75-81–156
Zach Fowlds, Lone Tree, Colo., 78-78–156
Jack Lazzeri, Littleton, Colo., 77-79–156
John Hayes, Denver, Colo., 79-77–156
Austin Lienemann, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 74-83–157
Bridger Ryan, Broomfield, Colo., 79-79–158
Harris Butler, Denver, Colo., 79-79–158
Bryan Cannon, Columbine Valley, Colo., 85-73–158
Alan Boyko, Greenwood Village, Colo., 77-81–158
Barry Erwin, Aurora, Colo., 84-74–158
Roy Carlsen, Arvada, Colo., 84-74–158
Nick Leibold, Littleton, Colo., 79-79–158
David Leede, Greenwood Village, Colo., 79-80–159
Kailer Rundiks, Denver, Colo., 83-76–159
Joey Saad, Grand Junction, Colo., 78-81–159
Cole Cunningham, Centennial, Colo., 79-81–160
Barrett Jones, Eagle, Colo., 79-81–160
Shawn Mercer, Arvada, Colo., 80-80–160
Braden Bentley, Colorado Springs, Colo., 81-79–160
Andrew McCormick, Denver, Colo., 80-81–161
Drew Vance, Lakewood, Colo., 83-78–161
Nicholas Michas, Golden, Colo., 78-83–161
Ross Hansen, Englewood, Colo., 77-85–162
Kyle Koelbel, Centennial, Colo., 79-83–162
Andrew Cooper, Englewood, Colo., 77-86–163
Ryan Alger, Denver, Colo., 78-85–163
Brock Dowdy, Denver, Colo., 80-84–164
Michael Boylan, Denver, Colo., 82-82–164
Clayton Thatch, Aurora, Colo., 84-81–165
Wesley Martin, Denver, Colo., 78-87–165
Brandon Bervig, Colorado Springs, Colo., 83-82–165
Zach Zurcher, Parker, Colo., 81-84–165
Eric Oneth, Greenwood Village, Colo., 78-88–166
David Packer, Greenwood Village, Colo., 84-84–168
Russell Otten, Centennial, Colo., 88-81–169
Eli Mackay, Colorado Springs, Colo., 80-90–170
Austin Hardman, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 81-91–172
Burhan Muzaffar, Denver, Colo., 91-82–173
Dylan Mitchell, Breckenridge, Colo., 86-87–173
Michael Glaesel, Arvada, Colo., 90-85–175
Harrison Murphy, McKinney, Texas, 79-WD
Dan Weisser, Denver, Colo., 79-WD
Kurt Walker, Denver, Colo., 90-WD
Nicholas Schippel, Lakewood, Colo., 90-WD
