At 3 over par through 13 holes on Tuesday at Omni Interlocken Golf Club in Broomfield, Guy Mertz wasn’t feeling good about qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur for a second straight year.
But it’s amazing what three birdies in his final five holes — and another on the first hole of a playoff — will do to change your outlook.
Mertz played his final six holes of the day, including the playoff, in 4 under par — and the final three in 3 under — to punch his ticket to the U.S. Senior Am again.
“I’m in shock,” he said of his late comeback. “It was totally unexpected. … I just wasn’t feeling it. I was just a little off. But I did it. It’s unbelievable to me. I stuck with it long enough, I guess. I’m really happy. I guess it proves last year wasn’t a fluke. Two years in a row; it can’t be a fluke, can it? Maybe I’m decent.”
The 59-year-old from Longmont joined Don Eklund of San Diego and Scott Sullivan of Grand Junction in booking return trips to the national championship for amateurs 55 and older.
This year’s U.S. Senior Am will be contested Aug. 25-30 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.
Eklund, a 61-year-old who used to live in the Vail area, shot a 3-under-par 69 to land medalist honors — and his second trip to the U.S. Senior Amateur. Sullivan earned his third berth in the event thanks to a 71 and despite playing his final three holes in 2 over par. And Mertz, as noted, rallied to qualify through a playoff. (Eklund and Sullivan are pictured above, with the medalist at left.)
Mertz and two other contestants who have likewise previously competed in the U.S. Senior Am — CGA Executive Committee members Kent Moore of Centennial and Gary Albrecht of Denver — posted 72s on Tuesday, then played off for the final spot in the national championship.
Moore and Albrecht hit ideal drives in the playoff, with Albrecht putting his second shot on the par-5 on the green, 60 feet short of the flag, and Moore leaving his second in a greenside bunker. Mertz pushed his tee shot into the rough and had a semi-blind second shot over a knoll, and he hit a 3-wood to 40 yards shot of the hole.
After a mediocre pitch, Mertz (left) drained a 20-foot birdie putt. Albrecht ended up three-putting for par from 60 feet. And Moore, after a good bunker shot to 7 feet, missed his birdie try, leaving Mertz to advance to his sixth USGA championship. He’s previously gone to the now-defunct U.S. Amateur Public Links three times, the 1990 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, and last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur in Minnesota, where he grew up.
“I didn’t hit a very good pitch, but I hit a really good putt (in the playoff),” said Mertz, the reigning CGA Parent/Child champion with son Nick. “I’d rather have a bad pitch and a good putt than a great pitch and a bad putt.”
After Mertz secured the final qualifying spot on Tuesday, Moore subsequently made a par on the same hole to earn the first alternate position as Albrecht made bogey.
Earlier, Eklund had holed a 100-yard wedge shot for eagle on the eighth hole en route to his 69. He added two birdies and one bogey during a day in which he hit 16 greens in regulation.
“I didn’t see (the wedge shot) go in,” said Eklund, the 2017 San Diego City Senior Amateur champion. “But it never left the flag. I have hole-outs probably two or three times a year, especially with my wedge. I consider myself a very good wedge player.”
As for returning to the U.S. Senior Am after a five-year absence, Eklund said, “It’s going to be a lot better, I can tell you that. I’ve been wanting to go back for six years. The USGA puts on great events. It’s such a treasure to go to one of them. I hear good things about Eugene Country Club and I’m really looking forward to it.”
The same is true for the 60-year-old Sullivan, who recently won the senior division of the CGA Western Chapter Championship. On Tuesday, he carded four birdies and three bogeys in his round of 71. Sullivan previously played in the 2013 and ’15 U.S. Senior Amateurs and the 2010 U.S. Senior Open.
“It will be great” competing in another USGA championship, said Sullivan, who’s won multiple low-amateur/low-senior amateur titles in the Rocky Mountain Open. “I’ve heard great things about Eugene Country Club too. The USGA events are the important ones (on his golf schedule). That’s what I point to. They’re great. Especially at the Senior Open, they treat you like a king. But I just enjoy competition.”
As for Mertz, he’s aiming to make match play at this year’s U.S. Senior Am after falling short last year in Minnesota, where he lived the first 26 years of his life.
“Hopefully when I get there (to Eugene) I won’t be quite as nervous because last year I had a lot of people in Minnesota rooting me on,” he said. “I put more pressure on myself, which is never good.”
U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 Omni Interlocken GC in Broomfield
ADVANCE TO U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR
Don Eklund, San Diego 34-35–69
Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction 35-36–71
Guy Mertz, Longmont 39-33–72
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Kent Moore, Centennial 36-36–72
Gary Albrecht, Denver 38-34–72
For all the scores from Tuesday, CLICK HERE.
