Jeff Chapman dressed head to toe with the idea of carrying forward the good mojo he generated two weeks ago.
The Denver resident qualified for the U.S. Amateur on July 23 — earning a spot in a USGA championship for the first time in the new millennium — so he figured it only made sense to go with a similar look for Monday’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Sectional Qualifying.
Chapman therefore sported the same colors for his shirt and shorts that he did two weeks earlier. And, for good measure, he wore an orange U.S. Amateur cap his girlfriend gave him after he qualified. Actually, it was one of nine such caps that she gave him.
Whether it was the wardrobe or simply more good golf, Chapman was able to add a second USGA championship to his 2012 schedule by earning a berth in the U.S. Mid-Amateur on Monday.
Chapman shot a 3-under-par 69 in Mid-Amateur qualifying at Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City, sharing medalist honors with Tom Hart of Denver and Andrew Tapia of Raton, N.M. (The co-medalists are pictured, from left: Chapman, Hart and Tapia.) Also advancing to the national tournament were Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield and Brian Richmeier of Aurora, who carded 70s and prevailed in a six-man playoff for the final two berths.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur, which is limited to players 25 and older, will be contested Sept. 8-13 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill.
“I’m pleased,” the 36-year-old Chapman said. “After having qualified for the Amateur two weeks, that’s been all that I could think about. I’m ready for it to get here, but I’m pleasantly surprised with how I played today.
“It’s a pretty special summer. In 1999 I qualified for the U.S. Publinks, played in Pacific Coast Amateur and got invited to play in the USGA State Team. That was a special summer, but 13 years later at 36 years old and still competing with young kids that play every day, that’s fun.”
Chapman, who works in sales, eagled the 532-yard second hole — his 11th — from 3 feet, and added three birdies on Monday. It was just his third round in the 60s this year, but two of them have come in USGA qualifiers; he had a 67 in the U.S. Amateur Sectional at Inverness.
“We had a sales conference and went to San Diego for New Year’s,” Chapman said. “I played Torrey Pines and La Costa, and after walking off Torrey Pines I said, ‘I’m going to rededicate myself to my game this summer. I’m going to work on my game and try to play and see if I can be competitive.’ And I’m almost there.”
Lindstrom will be competing in his fourth U.S. Mid-Am, and roughly his 14th USGA championship. He made it to the round of 16 at the 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
“It’s awesome,” said the 44-year-old, the CGA’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year in 2008. “I feel like I play in all of the other state events just as a warmup to try to qualify for these things (USGA championships).”
Meanwhile, the other four qualifiers will be making their national Mid-Am debuts. In fact, Hart, Tapia and Richmeier will be playing in their first USGA championship of any sort.
Monday’s qualifier, which originally featured a field of 80 golfers, saw its final two berths decided in a playoff. Lindstrom advanced with a 4-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, a par-4. And Richmeier earned the final spot when his punch 7-iron rode the wind and finished 2 1/2 feet from the cup on the par-3 second playoff hole, and he drained the putt.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very very long time,” said the 38-year-old Richmeier. “I’ve tried for a while. I’m super ecstatic. I knew that I had it in me and that eventually it would come through. Today it just worked out. This by far is my biggest accomplishment yet in golf, no doubt about it.”
Hart is a former University of Denver golfer whose family owns Cherry Creek Country Club, Plum Creek Golf Club and Deer Creek Golf Club. He teamed up with former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway to win the 2009 Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball, a tournament that draws a national field.
But this will be Hart’s first time competing at a USGA championship. In fact, he’d never before tried to qualify for any USGA events other than the U.S. Open.
“I just told myself to do it,” said Hart, who was 4 under par through six holes on Monday. “The past few years I got busy. I was playing good, but bailed on it. I just wanted to make sure I showed up today. That was the win for me — showing up.
“Playing in this will be awesome.”
Falling short in Monday’s playoff were Alex Kephart of Colorado Springs, Pete Mangold of Denver, Rob Clever of Firestone and Alex Buecking of Littleton, all of whom shot 70. Kephart and Mangold are the first and second alternates, respectively.
Buecking also was one of the odd men out in the U.S. Amateur qualifying playoff two weeks ago. As was the case then, he three-putted the first playoff hole to lose out.
U.S. Mid-Amateur Sectional Qualifying
At Par-72 Buffalo Run GC in Commerce City
ADVANCE TO U.S. MID-AMATEUR
Jeff Chapman, Denver, Colo., 33-36–69
Tom Hart, Denver, Colo., 33-36–69
Andrew Tapia, Raton, N.M., 35-34–69
Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield, Colo., 35-35–70
Brian Richmeier, Aurora, Colo., 33-37–70
ALTERNATES (In order)
Alex Kephart, Colorado Springs, Colo., 35-35–70
Pete Mangold, Denver, Colo., 36-34–70
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Rob Clever, Firestone, Colo., 35-35–70
Alex Buecking, Littleton, Colo., 35-35–70
Andrew Moore, Loveland, Colo., 35-36–71
Stephen Summers, Dallas, Texas, 36-35–71
Michael Harrington, Colorado Springs, Colo., 36-35–71
Wesley Martin, Denver, Colo., 34-38–72
Richard Bradsby, Denver, Colo., 35-37–72
Chad Hess, Colorado Springs, Colo., 38-35–73
Dean Clapp, Centennial, Colo., 36-37–73
Jonathan Marsico, Denver, Colo., 38-35–73
Gary Driber, Castle Pines, Colo., 35-38–73
Paul Mohr, Scottsbluff, Neb., 37-37–74
Thomas Roos, Englewood, Colo., 37-37–74
Clint Miller, Englewood, Colo., 38-37–75
Kristofer Anderson, Chandler, Ariz., 36-39–75
Robert Bedan, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 35-40–75
Justin Borzych, Castle Rock, Colo., 38-37–75
Billy Day, Pueblo West, Colo., 36-39–75
David Lysaught, Denver, Colo., 38-37–75
Michael Slutzky, Littleton, Colo., 39-36–75
Grant Javernick, Aurora, Colo., 37-38–75
Steve Sullivan, Castle Rock, Colo., 36-39–75
Dewey Burke, Denver, Colo., 35-40–75
Adam Thoutt, Westminster, Colo., 36-40–76
Danny Riskam, Broomfield, Colo., 38-38–76
Michael Love, Castle Rock, Colo., 37-39–76
Mark Zbrzeznj, Avon, Colo., 39-37–76
Daniel Honer, Denver, Colo., 39-37–76
E. Stephen Holstein Jr, Basalt, Colo., 39-37–76
Michael Glaesel, Arvada, Colo., 38-38–76
Danny Hahn, Denver, Colo., 39-37–76
Kent Moore, Littleton, Colo., 38-39–77
Henry Bissell, Littleton, Colo., 39-38–77
Davin Sjoberg, Crested Butte, Colo., 38-39–77
Jason Coffin, Denver, Colo., 38-39–77
Tristan Sanders, Denver, Colo., 40-37–77
John Luoma, Parker, Colo., 39-38–77
Andrew Rapp, Denver, Colo., 38-39–77
Reginald Kellum, Windsot, Colo., 38-39–77
Stephen Reister, Littleton, Colo., 39-38–77
Troy Duerr, Colorado Springs, Colo., 40-37–77
Ben Haselbauer, Minneapolis, Minn., 39-38–77
Bryan Doyea, Peyton, Colo., 41-36–77
Craig Kirscht, Thornton, Colo., 41-36–77
Shane Unfred, Windsor, Colo., 38-40–78
Chad Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 40-38–78
Colby Anderson, Rapid City, S.D., 42-36–78
Jason Eagan, Castle Rock, Colo., 41-38–79
Stephen Fernandes, Denver, Colo., 39-40–79
David Ramsden-Wood, Denver, Colo., 37-42–79
Benjamin Burke, Denver, Colo., 40-39–79
Chris Longfellow, Castle Rock, Colo., 39-41–80
Bill Parker, Aurora, Colo., 37-43–80
Arnold Hoy, Castle Rock, Colo., 42-38–80
Owen Ellis, Boulder, Colo., 40-41–81
Daniel Tripp, Bloomfield, N.J., 39-42–81
Jeff Weiss, Boulder, Colo., 39-42–81
Greg Bollefer, Centennial, Colo., 42-39–81
Andrew Rathbun, Westminster, Colo., 40-41–81
Russell Branzell, Fort Collins, Colo., 44-37–81
Steve Summers, Dallas, Texas, 39-43–82
James Hillary, Cherry Hills Village, Colo., 43-39–82
Wlad Colmenares, Aurora, Colo., 42-40–82
Rick Kelly, Golden, Colo., NS
Chris Melcher, Colorado Springs, Colo., NS
Tom Krystyn, Denver, Colo., NS
Mark Matthews, Colorado Springs, Colo., NC
