To still be playing golf on Saturday of a Missouri Amateur Championship means a lot. For one, it represents the fact you've outlasted over a hundred and twenty plus players who put the ball in the air on Tuesday and Wednesday. It means you are one of 8 players remaining in contention to win the most coveted championship in the state of Missouri for amateur golf. It means you are playing well and have a realistic chance to create arguably your best golf memory ever as a competitive player.
For the eight players teeing it up at WingHaven Country Club on Saturday morning, it also meant they would have to continue playing their best golf if they expected to play more golf on Saturday afternoon. The final eight in the bracket featured four players from the St. Louis area, three from the Kansas City metro and one from Springfield, MO.
The first match of the morning consisted of stroke play medalist, Drew Lethem vs. Brad Nurski. Nurski had marched through his first three matches defeating two of St. Louis' top amateurs in Darren Lundgren and Mitchell Gregson on Friday and the reward was earning a tee time against arguably the hottest player in the field. Unfortunately for Nurski, runner-up at the U.S. Open Sectional qualifying, his road to the Missouri Amateur Championship would end on Saturday morning as Lethem continued his consistent play winning 3 and 2.
The second match of the morning featured the long hitting, Ben Wood of Kirkwood, MO vs. Justin Bardgett of Chesterfield, MO. Bardgett, a member of the University of Colorado golf team, trailed most of the front nine until squaring the match on the par 4, 9th hole. He would never trail again, eventually winning the match 1up after Wood narrowly missed a birdie chip on the par 4, 18th.
(Below - Skip Berkmeyer chips on the 18th at the Phil Cotton Invitational)
In match number 3, past champion Skip Berkmeyer faced the cinderella story of the 2008 championship, Kyle Jasper. Jasper, a member of WingHaven Country Club and collegiate player at Missouri Baptist University, upset the defending champion Connor McHenry on Friday afternoon. His reward was an opportunity to play against the most senior player remaining in the field in past champion, Skip Berkmeyer. Berkmeyer got off to a hot start with birdies on the 2nd, 4th and 5th holes en route to a 4 up lead through five holes. Jasper would never get closer than 3 down the rest of the way as Berkmeyer advanced with a 4 and 3 victory.
The final match of the morning involved Matt Sullivan, Springfield vs. Andrew Hatten, Kansas City. Sullivan, a recent graduate at Missouri State University maintained a 1 up lead most of the match until the back nine where he increased his lead to 3 up after 13. A few mistakes on 14, 15 and 16 allowed Hatten to close the gap to a 1 up advantage for Sullivan. Sullivan eventually won the match 1 up after the two players halved both 17 and 18.
