Blog

Wingerter, Propeck Win Kansas City Junior Champion Title

Posted on

This year’s Kansas City Junior Championship was held at Brookridge Golf and Fitness May 30-31st. 89 of the top junior talent took their shot at the KC Junior title and a chance to play in either the Watson Challenge or the Prairie Invitational.

In the girl’s division, 29 girls vied for the top spot. Over the course of the two-day competition, Megan Propeck distinguished herself atop the leaderboard. With a first round score of 69, (-2), Propeck etched her name over the field by 7 strokes over Julia Misemer. In her first round, Propeck carded two bogeys and four birdies.

Despite a big lead, Propeck had a few mistakes in her second round with a handful of bogeys on the day. She battled back with two birdies to card 75, (+4). Her great play secured her the 2018 KC Junior Girl’s Champion title by an amazing 9 strokes. Molly Saporito secured second place shooting a 79, 74 (153). Julia Misemer rounded out the top three with a 76, 81 (157).

As a result of her win, Megan Propeck also secured an invitation to the Prairie Invitational at the end of July. We look forward to seeing Megan bring more great golf to the Prairie Invitational field.

In the boy’s division, 60 players battled for medalist and an invitation to play in the Watson Challenge June 8-10th. Competition was tight throughout the two-day competition. Some notable names in the field included Michael Winslow, recent State Champion, Garrett Clark, defending champion Ryan Bender, and many more. After round one, Justin Wingerter earned the leader spot after shooting a bogey-free round of 69, (-2), by two strokes over Daniel Gutgesell.

On the final day of competition, the leading group included Justin Wingerter, 69, Daniel Gutgesell, 71, and Calvin Dillon, 72, but the last few groups all had a shot at the victory being within two or three strokes of the lead. Wingerter’s biggest competition came from Joe Bultman, who started the second round 4 strokes behind. With a birdie and an eagle on the Par-5, 11th, Bultman found himself in contention heading to the final few holes.

Wingerter’s final round featured a few hiccups on the front nine that saw him fall back to +1 for the tournament at one point. Unaware of other player’s standings, Wingerter had to battle through his mistakes to make up some ground. Bultman finished his round with a 69, (-2), and a 142 overall score for the tournament. Heading into the 16th hole, Wingerter was down by one stroke. With an incredible bogey save on the 15th, Wingerter went on to birdie 16, 17, and 18 to beat out Bultman by one stroke.

It was an incredible two days of golf and an even better finish. Wingerter and Bultman both secured their Champion and Runner-Up titles as well as invitations to the Watson Challenge next week. We wish both of them the best of luck and hope their great play continues into the Watson.

For a full field of results, click here.

Visit our Facebook page for in-depth interviews with both Megan Propeck and Justin Wingerter.

 

By Taylor Albritton, KCGA Intern

Bezek, Kelley, Kujawa, & Booth Medal in Lionsgate SLAT

Posted on

Our third Stateline Tour Event of the season kicked off at the Nicklaus Club at Lionsgate on Tuesday, May 29th. Our four divisions battled through the humidity and late threat storms to claim their respective medalist.

In the Open division, only one golfer carded a score under par. Matt Kelley shot a one-under 71 on the day to earn his title as medalist. A great round of golf that included five birdies, ended with a couple missteps to bring Kelley in at one-under. Kelley took advantage of every par-5 on the day with a birdie on each. His play was enough to beat out the field by two strokes. Chris Beaubien and Gregory Diederich both came in at 73, (+1) to tie for second.

In the Senior division, Robert Booth edged out his opponents by one stroke with a two-under, 70. His round was highlighted by two birdies and an eagle on the Par-4, 13th. Steve Groom placed a close second after shooting a one-under, 71. Groom shot a fairly consistent round with three birdies and two bogeys. John Scarsella rounded out the top three with a carded round of 74, (+2).

In the gross division of the Player’s, Adam Kujawa shot the best round of the day by three with a 71 (-1). Kujawa’s round consisted of four birdies on the day with three bogeys. His birdie on the Par-4, 16th helped to cement his medalist title. Dale Nash claimed second place with a two-over, 74 and Steve Green closed the top three with a 75, (+3).

Dennis McCormack, with an incredible net score to par of 64 (-8), beat out the net division field by one. Adam Kujawa placed second with a net 65 (-7), and Jim Rich and Steve Green tied for third with a net score of 69 (-3).

For the Legend’s division, Bob Bezek won medalist with his two-over 74, beating out second place by two strokes over Pete Robbins. Bezek’s round was highlighted by two birdies, one on a Par-4 and the other on a Par-3. With Robbins in second with a four-over 76, a three way tie for third followed. Jim Seward, John Grant, and David Hornaday all carded an 80, (+8) for a third place tie.

John Pawsat shot a four-under, 68 net to become the medalist in the Legend’s net division. John Breau came in second with a 71, (-1), net score. Frank Muehlbach and Wilson Winn both carded an even par, 72, to tie for third.

For full field results, click here.

Our next SLAT event is at Sycamore Ridge Golf Club on June 12th. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

 

US Senior Open Qualifying

Posted on

For a chance to qualify for the US Senior Open at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 72 players played for two spots at Blue Hills CC Wednesday, May 23rd.

Two spots and two alternate spots were on the line for the 18-hole qualifying round. Deane Pappas carded the low round of the day with an incredible 66 (-6) to claim the first qualifying spot. Pappas only had one bogey on the day, with 7 total birdies with one coming on the 18th green to finish his round.

Matt Seitz (67) and Deane Pappas (66) Qualify for US Senior Open

Pappas beat out Matt Seitz for medalist by one stroke. Seitz had an incredibly consistent round with no bogeys and five birdies to shoot a 67 (-5). With this, Seitz punched his ticket to the US Senior Open alongside Pappas.

To determine the alternate spots, a playoff began between Jay Williamson, John Riegger, and Bryan Norton. All players carded an impressive 70 on the day and fought to secure an alternate spot to the US Senior Open. Jay Williamson secured first alternate and Bryan Norton second alternate.

For results, see here.

By Taylor Albritton, KCGA Intern

Argotsinger, Willman & Rebne Secure Their Place in the Watson Challenge

Posted on

On May 22 at Ironhorse Golf Club, 78 players entered the Watson Challenge Qualifier for a chance to play alongside Tom Watson in the Watson Challenge the first week of June.

Ryan Argotsinger, Tied Low Medalist at 69 (-3)

The Watson Challenge field is comprised of 48 of the best players around the Kansas City area. 32 spots are reserved for 16 players from the Kansas City Golf Association’s top amateurs and 16 from the PGA’s top professionals. After the various exemptions given out for club champions, juniors, and Mr. Tom Watson, the Watson Challenge Qualifier only has three qualifying spots to give.

With 78 players vying for three qualifying spots and two alternates, there was little room for error. The low scores of the day and the first two qualifying spots belonged to Ryan Argotsinger and Scott Willman, both carding an incredible 69 (-3). Argotsinger shot a fairly consistent round with only two bogeys, two birdies, and an eagle on the Par 5, 14th. After bogeys on the first two holes, Argotsinger battled back to finish with a great round of golf to get him into the Watson Challenge.

Scott Willman also shot a consistent round with only one bogey and four birdies, three of which came on Par 5’s. Both players took advantage of their opportunities and limited their mistakes on a hazard-filled golf course.

The top three and final qualifying spot for the day was claimed by Nic Rebne with an even-par 72 round. Rebne started with two back-to-back bogeys on the first two holes but followed with a birdie on Hole 3 and 8. Finishing out his round with ten pars in row, Rebne secured in spot in the Watson Challenge come June.

Scott Willman, Tied Low Medalist at 69 (-3)

Nine players sat on the outside looking in after shooting a round of 73 (+1). A playoff ensued to determine the first and second alternate to the qualifiers. All nine players went off the Par-5 9th in hopes of securing their last hope of qualifying for the Watson Challenge. On #9, Connor Knabe and Justin Wingerter beat out the field by each scoring a birdie. Knabe and Wingerter continued on to Hole 10 and then 11 to decide who would be first and second alternate. Ultimately, Connor Knabe secured his place as first alternate and Wingerter will be the second alternate.

For a full field of results, see here.

By Taylor Albritton, KCGA Intern

Jackson Foth Claims His First KCGA Major Title at the KC Match Play Championship

Posted on
By Taylor Albritton, KCGA Boatwright Intern

The 2018 Kansas City Match Play Championship kicked off Friday, May 18th with a full field of 78 players teeing it up at Swope Memorial Golf Course.

With a beautiful opening day and optimal conditions, the golfers fought for the chance to make match play after 18 holes of stroke-play qualifying Friday morning. The top 32 scores advanced to match play later that afternoon with the cut line at 75 (+3). Five players carded a 75 on their round tied at 29th and a playoff was required to narrow down the field. Five players went off at #5 at Swope Memorial, battling for four spots left for match play.

Mark Terranova, Blake Mullen, Scott Schaeffer, Ritch Nigh, and Alex Downing fought through a 3 hole playoff, and ultimately Alex Downing was left on the outside looking in. Some other featured names who made match play include Ryne Fisher, Matt Kelley, Luke Lutgen, and defending champion Travis Mays.

With the match play field set, the round of 32 began Friday afternoon. As the 32 seed, Terranova pulled off the upset by defeating the 1 seed, Park Ulrich. A few other upsets included Ryne Fisher, 24 seed, over Ryan Faherty, 7 seed, and Blake Mullen, 30 seed, over Nick Nash, 3 seed.

The round of 16 began Saturday morning after a two hour rain delay. Terranova and Mullen continued their upset bids by beating Jim Seward, the 16 seed and Luke Horseman, the 19 seed. Cam Wiltse took out Doug Albers 3 and 2 and the round of 16 saw defending champion Travis Mays lose to Jay Gregory 6 and 5.

The quarterfinals began that afternoon between the top 8. Terranova went up against Jeff Mason and secured a spot in the semi-finals 2 and 1. Cam Wiltse defeated Jay Gregory 4 and 2 while Michael Madrigal took out Blake Allen 2 and 1. The last quarterfinal match between Jackson Foth and Blake Mullen was decided handily by Foth 7 and 6.

Championship Sunday began after another brief weather delay in the morning. Mark Terranova went up against Cam Wiltse in the first semi-final match of the day. Wiltse struggled on the opening few holes, and Terranova took advantage. Never losing his lead, Terranova won his way to the championship match 3 and 2.

The second semi-final match between Michael Madrigal and Jackson Foth saw a competitive first nine. Both players battled back and forth, but Foth ultimately made the turn at 1 up after a birdie on #9. After a few mistakes by Madrigal on the back nine, Foth came out on top 4 and 2 with five birdies and an eagle on his round.

The championship match was set between Mark Terranova, the 32 seed, and Jackson Foth, the 22 seed. Foth got off to a early lead after three birdies in a row. Terranova continued to fight back throughout the front nine, but after a couple more birdies, Foth made the turn at 2 up. Terranova and Foth were step for step through the first four holes on the back nine. After a bogey on 14 by Terranova, Foth saw himself 3 up with four holes to go. After a great 20-foot birdie make on the Par-3, 16th, Foth became the 2018 Kansas City Match Play Champion at 3 and 2.

Both players played great golf all weekend, along with the many others who joined us for this weekend. It was a great championship, and a big congratulations to the new KC Match Play Champion: Jackson Foth.

As always we couldn’t do any of this without the many volunteers who help us as well as Swope Memorial Golf Course for hosting. We can’t wait to see everyone back next year!

For a full field of results, see here. See our Facebook page for an interview with Jackson Foth after his win.

US Open Local Qualifying Results

Posted on

The first US Open Local Qualifier took place at Wichita Country Club on May 9th. 48 players battled for three qualifying spots to move on to sectional qualifying for this year’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills GC in New York.

Sam Stevens, Medalist at US Open Local

Sam Stevens took the first qualifying spot with an incredible eight-under, 64, and claimed medalist honors for the low round of the day by two shots. Stevens’ round was highlighted by seven birdies and an eagle on the Par-5, 18th hole. The second qualifying spot was secured by Kristoffer Ventura with an impressive six-under, 66. With only two bogeys, Ventura hit eight birdies on the day to finish only two strokes behind Stevens.

Austin Woody, Christopher Tidland, Cameron Bishop and Nick Heinen all tied for third with 4-under 68 rounds for the day and a playoff was required to determine the final qualifying spot as well as two alternate spots. After all four players carded a par on the first play-off hole, Woody was able to claim the third and final qualifying spot with a birdie on the second. Heinen, Bishop and Christopher Tidland continued on after all making par for the two remaining alternate spots.

The playoff continued for two more holes between Tidland and Heinen after Bishop bogeyed the third to fall out of contention and Tidland and Heinen both pared. Tidland was able to par the fourth play-off hole while Heinen unfortunately finished with a bogey, giving Tidland the first alternate spot. Heinen finished as the second alternate.

For a full field of results see here.

 

The second US Open Local qualifier was held Monday, May 14th at the Golf Club of Creekmoor. The field consisted of 51 players fighting for three qualifying spots and two alternates to move on to sectional qualifying.

Justin Bardgett Tied for Low Medalist at US Open Local

Alex Springer and Justin Bardgett both shot an even par 72 on the day to tie for first and claim the top two qualifying spots. Springer’s round was highlighted by two birdies on the day with only two bogeys. Bardgett also shot a consistent round with two bogeys and two birdies with both birdies coming on par 5’s. Their even par 72 rounds were enough to beat out t he field by one stroke.

Ryan Argotsinger and Linus Lilliedahl rounded out the top four, both shooting a plus-one 73 round. Argotsinger’s round was a little more up and down, but his four birdies on the day kept him in it and gave him a chance to battle in a playoff for the final qualifying spot. Lilliedahl also shot four birdies on the day to keep him in contention to move on to sectional qualifying.

After a one-hole playoff, Argotsinger claimed the final qualifying spot with a birdie on #10 over Lilliedahl. Lilliedahl finished as the first alternate. Travis Mays claimed the last alternate spot with his round of 74 (+2).

For a full field of results see here.

The top three qualifiers from both US Open Local Qualifiers will move on to sectional qualifying in hopes of landing a coveted spot at this year’s US Open. We wish the local talent all the luck in moving forward.

Exon/Desilet Capture Gross Title, Davis/Crawford Dominate Net Scoring at Spring Triple Threat

Posted on

Wichita, KS – Thirty-four teams competed in the Spring Triple Threat at Crestview Country Club’s South Course this morning. Teams played six holes of Four Ball, six holes of Chapman Alternate Shot, and six holes of Scramble.  The competition awards prizes for gross and net scoring in each of three flights as well as trophies for the Overall Gross Champions and Overall Net Champions.  Players also receive points in the KGA/KCGA Women’s Player of the Year series, which is being awarded for the first time this year.

Karen Exon of Topeka and Denise Desilet of Wichita were the Overall Gross Champions firing a three-under-par 69.  The cruised through the Four Ball portion of the event carding two birdies to only one bogey.  A solid +1 performance in the Chapman format kept the team going strong, but a -3 Scramble distanced the team from the field to claim the title.

Jan Davis and Barbara Crawford led all the way with stellar play in all three formats.  A -3 Four Ball to go with a -6 Chapman stretch and a -6 Scramble made the pair wire-to-wire leaders.  A net eagle on #13 along with birdies on both par 3s in the final holes made it difficult for the rest of the field to keep pace.

The next event in the Player of the Year Series is the Kansas Senior/Super Senior Championship at Wichita Country Club on June 19-20.  Entries close on June 12.

Click here for complete results of the Spring Triple Threat.

Stateline Tour at Lawrence CC Recap

Posted on

On May 7th, the beautiful Lawrence Country Club hosted our second Stateline Amateur Tour event of the season. 76 players battled through perfect conditions at Lawrence CC to claim medalist honors in each of the four divisions.

The low round of the day belonged to Ritch Nigh of the Seniors division. Nigh recorded a 71 (+1) on the day, highlighted by three birdies. Nigh claimed the Senior division title by 5 strokes over second place finisher John Samples (76). Samples battled through an up and down round with his three birdies on the day helping to secure him second place. Third place was captured by David Hamilton with a 77 (+7) round.

In the Open division, Lee York came out on top with a 74 (+4) round at Lawrence CC. Despite a few bogeys, York’s round was highlighted by a birdie on both the front and back nine with his first birdie on the day coming at the Par-5, Hole #3. Charles Rinehart finished second only by 1 stroke with a 75 (+5). In a two-way tie for third was Jason Adkins and Gregory Diederich was 76 rounds (+6). The close competition in the Open division is always great to see by the KCGA.

In the Legend’s division, Pete Robbins took home his second victory in a row in the gross division with a six-over 76. Despite a double bogey late in his round, Robbins battled with two birdies on the day to claim the gross division title by 4 strokes. David Hornaday finished second after shooting a round of 80 and Philip Squier rounded out the top three with an 81 (+11).

In the net division, Hornaday and Squier both tied for first with scores of 72 net. Gross division winner Pete Robbins took third. Congratulations to all three for top finishes in both the gross and net division for the Legends.

With a six-over, 76, Steve Hammond claimed first place in the Player’s Gross division. Despite an up and down round, Hammond’s three birdies put him atop the leaderboard by two strokes. Andrew Makowske and Derek Garver both finished second with 78 (+8) rounds.

Finally, in the Player’s Net division, Hammond also claimed the title with a 70 net score. Derek Garver finished second in the net division as well with a 72 net score and third place was closely followed by Jacob Epperson and Andrew Makowske who both posted scores of 74 net.

As always the KCGA appreciate all of its tournament participants and congratulate the medalists on the day. Our next SLAT event will take place May 29th at the Nicklaus Golf Club at Lionsgate.

To see results from the whole field, see https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1407762.

Carmen Titus Wins KC Women’s Match Play

Posted on

Carmen Titus defeated defending champion Lacy Shelton on Saturday afternoon at Swope Memorial to win the 65th playing of the Kansas City Women’s Match Play Championship.

Shelton took a quick 2-up lead in the final match, but Titus fought back to square it up through five. From there, the match was very even, with both players trading 1-up leads. Titus took a 1-up lead into the 17th, but made bogey, squaring the match. Following a halve on 18, the players went back to #1 to play their 19th hole. Shelton, who hit her approach shot over the green, was unable to save par, setting up a 2-putt victory for Titus.

The KC Women’s Match Play dates back to 1915. Click here to see the history.

Registration Now Open for Web.Com Qualifier

Posted on

On July 31, 2018, the Kansas City Golf Association will hold a qualifier for a Web.Com Tour event. The Kansas City Crusader Web.Com Qualifier will be held at Canyon Farms Golf Club and participants will be playing for two spots in the Web.Com event, the KC Golf Classic, formally known as the Digital Ally Golf Tournament. The KC Golf Classic will take place August 2nd through August 5th at the Nicklaus Golf Club at Lionsgate.

The cost for participation in the qualifier is $350.00 per player. $50 of that entry fee will go to the Kansas City Golf Association in support of our Youth on Course program. Registration will take place through Golf Genius and the deadline to enter for the qualifier is July 30th at 6:00 PM. Registration is open to anyone who wishes to participate.

To register for the Kansas City Crusader Web.Com Qualifier, please click here.

For more information on the KC Golf Classic, please see the PGA Tour’s website here.