Kyle Pearson is fresh out of high school, but you’d never know it by the way he’s toppling NCAA Division I golfers from Colorado this week at the 117th CGA Match Play Championship.
The 18-year-old from Meridian Golf Club, competing in the Match Play for the first time, has prevailed over Ross Macdonald (University of Colorado) in the round of 16, stroke-play medalist Jake Kelley (University of Denver) in Thursday’s quarterfinals, and 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle (University of Utah) in the semifinals.
That puts the 2016 5A state high school champion in line for one more matchup against a DI opponent — DU senior-to-be Chris Korte in Friday’s 36-hole title match at The Club at Ravenna in Littleton.
“Yesterday, I beat Ross Macdonald, who’s a good player as well,” Pearson (pictured) noted on Thursday evening. “So I knew going up against college players, I can hang with them. I’m doing good if I can beat them. It just helps to add to my confidence that I’m just as good as these guys.
“It’s amazing. It’s my first year playing in this. Going in, I didn’t have too high of expectations. I was hoping to maybe win a match or two, but to get this far is amazing. And hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.”
Korte (left), of course, has other ideas. On Friday, he’ll be attempting to complete a career sweep of the CGA’s top championships, having won the CGA Amateur in 2015.
“It would mean so much for me to win this,” Korte noted.
On Thursday, both players won twice for the second consecutive day to land a spot in the final match.
Pearson, who just graduated from Highlands Ranch High School and will play college golf at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, took down Kelley — a DU teammate of Korte — 3 and 2 in Thursday morning’s quarterfinals, three days after Kelley set a Ravenna course record for the gold/black tees by shooting an 8-under-par 63. Then in the semifinals, Pearson never led until a par on the 21st hole of the longest match of the championship landed him the win. Dunkle, himself a former 5A state high school champion, missed the green on the par-3. Following a very delicate pitch, he couldn’t sink a 10-foot par putt that would have extended the match further. Pearson, meanwhile, two-putted from 40 feet, advancing thanks to a 4-foot par putt.
Dunkle, who made it to the round of 16 at last year’s U.S. Amateur, had made a birdie on 16 and took a 1-up lead into the par-5 18th. He seemed to have a big advantage in the middle of the fairway in two, with Pearson on the side of a steep hill in native grass (pictured at top). But Dunkle’s approach bounced right into a greenside bunker, and Pearson hit a stellar shot to 6 feet from the cup and he sank the birdie putt to push the match to extra holes.
“You can’t really beat a hole-in-one (which Pearson had en route to his 5A victory), but to keep a match going, I’d say that’s one of the best shots I’ve hit,” he said.
Pearson has now twice this week won matches that went at least 20 holes.
As for Korte, he has yet to have to play the 18th hole in any of his five matches. After beating Jack Cummings of the Omni Interlocken Resort 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals on Thursday, he faced a formidable test with Colorado State University golfer Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club, who made match play at the U.S. Amateur two years ago. An eagle on the second hole by Staiano put him 1 up, but Korte was ahead most of the match. A 10-foot downhill birdie on the 14th hole and a par on the 15th put him 3 up with three to play. Staiano extended things with a big-breaking 12-foot birdie on 16, but Korte closed out the match, 3 and 1, on No. 17 with a conceded 4-foot birdie.
Also along the way to the final, Korte defeated 2015 Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz 6 and 5 in the round of 16 on Wednesday afternoon.
“I’ve been a groove,” said Korte, 20. “Obviously the 65 in the stroke-play round gave me a lot of confidence. I’ve made a couple of equipment changes and I’ve been feeling great with the swing and working with my coach pretty diligently. So I just had a ton of confidence coming into the week. I’m hoping to get it done tomorrow.”
So far this week, Korte has certainly been getting it done at Ravenna. By his best estimate, including the stroke-play qualifying round on Monday, he’s 17 under par for the week.
“Lately I’ve been trying to fight back and have the expectation that I need to make birdies and I need to play right out of the block,” he said. “I’ve been a lot under par this week, so that’s been really nice.
“My game has never felt better, so I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Speaking of Friday, Korte could be cutting it a little close, schedule-wise, as he has a 6:30 p.m. flight out of DIA headed for the North & South Amateur Championship that will begin on Monday in Pinehurst, N.C.
Friday’s 36-hole final will begin at 7 a.m.
CGA Match Play
At The Club at Ravenna in Littleton
QUARTERFINALS
Kyle Pearson, Meridian GC, def. Jake Kelley, Columbine CC, 3 and 2
Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera, def. Brittain Walton, Collindale GC, 1 up
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, def. Jack Cummings, Omni Interlocken Resort, 3 and 2
Jake Staiano, Glenmoor CC, def. Roy Carlsen, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, 2 and 1
SEMIFINALS
Kyle Pearson, Meridian GC, def. Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera, 21 holes
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, def. Jake Staiano, Glenmoor CC, 3 and 1
FRIDAY’S 36-HOLE FINAL
Pearson vs. Korte, 7 a.m.
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
