But on a scorching Thursday at Pine Needles, 22-year-old Ingrid Lindblad — “Iggy” to her friends — posted a six-under 65, the lowest round by an amateur in Women’s Open history, to take the early opening-round lead and start the conversation again about whether another amateur could one day win the most coveted title in women’s professional golf.

Lindblad, a native of Halmstad, Sweden, is No. 2 on the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking and the reigning SEC champion from LSU. She got into this week’s field as a late alternate. When tee times for the first and second rounds were released on Monday, she couldn’t believe who she was paired with — in addition to former US Women’s Open winner So Yeon Ryu she would be playing with her hero Annika Sorenstam, a three-time winner of the championship competing again for the first time since 2008.

“When I saw that I’m playing with her I was like in shock,” said Lindblad, who ended the day in solo second, one stroke back of leader Mina Harigae. “I was like, this cannot be true. Then on the first tee box I get her scorecard, I’m like, ‘I have Annika’s scorecard in my hands.’”

Like a lot of young Swedish golfers, Lindblad has long been influenced by Sorenstam. In 2014, she first played in a Sorenstam-sponsored event. By 2019, at the Annika Invitational in St. Augustine, Florida, the two knew each other well enough that after Lindblad won the tournament and realised she didn’t have a ride to the airport in Orlando, Sorenstam gave her a lift.

“She can be quite bubbly,” Sorenstam joked on Thursday, after shooting three-over 74 in her return round, “so it was more listening than talking.”

Sorenstam went on to compliment Lindblad’s game, highlighting not just the impressive length, but also her touch around the greens. For Lindblad’s part, to have Sorenstam fist-pumping a few of her birdies was a surreal and rewarding experience. After an opening birdie, she made her first bogey on the par-5 10th hole, but after that stumble, Lindblad was nearly perfect, making six more birdies over the next 16 holes and punctuating her round with a final long putt for birdie on the eighth.

“I felt like the course would be a little bit more narrow,” she said. “I missed a few tee shots today that I thought would be a little bit more off, but then I get to the ball and I’m like, ‘oh, it’s fine’… I hit a few shots close to the pin, and then my putting was great.”

Lindblad has known Annika Sorenstam since 2014, but playing with her at the US Women’s Open was its own treat. Jared C. Tilton

Also helping Lindblad was the veteran she has as a caddie. Only Sophie Gustafson isn’t a veteran caddie but rather a veteran player who played in the three previous US Women’s Opens at Pine Needles in addition to eight European Solheim Cup teams. Gustafson, 48, caddied after ending her playing career and met Lindblad for the first time this week. The two were connected by the coach for the Swedish National Team after Lindblad got her late spot in the field.

If an amateur having success in the first round of the US Women’s Open sounds familiar, it’s because it happened only a year ago. With a 67 at Olympic Club, American teenager Megha Ganne shared the Day 1 lead. She eventually played in the final threesome on Sunday before finishing T-14.

Appearing before the media, her hair tied in a braid, Lindblad was excited and a little surprised at the attention. When the USGA official read off her name, a prelude to listing the accomplishments of her round, she said: “Yes!” as if answering a roll call. When a reporter asked if she wished she’d turned professional a few days ago, considering the massive $10 million purse, she laughed and stated her commitment to remaining in college “for another year or so.”

Lindblad arrives at Pine Needles on the heels of an incredible season at LSU in which she was a finalist for the Annika Award — of course — as the nation’s best female collegiate golfer. In a late season stretch, she won four of five tournaments, finished second at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and punctuated the torrid stretch with a victory at the SEC Championship. At the NCAA Championship, she finished in a tie for third, five shots behind the World’s No. 1 amateur Rose Zhang.

Now, she’s off to a hot start in what would be not just the greatest accomplishment of her competitive life, but one of the most remarkable stories in women’s golf. Lindblad is a fan of jigsaw puzzles — “at least a thousand pieces,” she said — and using those terms, she’s perhaps solved the borders at Pine Needles, but has a lot of space to fill in starting on Friday. The pressure will be unique, and so will the competition, but even at the young age of 22, she’s a proven winner who seems to have the talent and pedigree to follow in the footsteps of … well, you know who.

More
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Dustin Johnson to headline LIV Golf field in London

The post Amateur grabs first-round spotlight at US Women’s Open — meet Annika Sorenstam fan Ingrid Lindblad appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Gabrielle Herzig
Grace Summerhays is no stranger to tournament golf. In fact, she has tested herself at almost every level of competitive play there is: junior golf, amateur championships, women’s professional events, even men’s Korn Ferry Tour qualifiers. But there’s one stage she has yet to step on: college golf.

Next month, Summerhays will take care of that as she enrolls mid-season at Arizona State, just weeks after earning her high school diploma one semester early. At first glance, this would seem like an unusual decision for a 17-year-old. Why make a quick transition into college when you could take some time off and practice for the next big stage?

The answer is easier to understand the more you know about Summerhays. She isn’t your average high school senior. She won the Utah Women’s State Amateur at age 16, the youngest ever to do so. But beyond her tournament record, she is a spirited and fiery competitor who would take an action-packed schedule over an extended break without hesitation. The move makes perfect sense.

“As a tournament golfer, the reason why we practice is for tournaments,” Summerhays said. “I like having a full schedule so I know what I’m working towards. The junior golf spring season only has two or three events. I thought that for me it would be more productive to play a full schedule in the spring.”

Summerhays’ competitive drive is honed from within, but her upbringing in what can be called a golf powerhouse family certainly played a factor in developing her mindset. Her father, Boyd Summerhays, coaches a handful of top PGA Tour players—Tony Finau and Taylor Gooch included—and briefly played on tour himself. Her older brother, Preston, is a former U.S. Junior champion who started his freshman season at ASU in the fall, which will make them the first brother-sister golf duo in school history. The youngest Summerhays sibling, 14-year-old Cam, is trending to follow in his older siblings’ footsteps as he begins to ramp up his AJGA schedule.

Grace’s decision to begin her college golf career in January was also driven by other factors. The Scottsdale native began taking her high school classes online when she was only a freshman, and the flexible class format made it easier for her to get ahead and graduate early. ASU is a short drive from home, and the 2022 NCAA Championship is being held at Grayhawk Golf Club, giving Summerhays the potential to play in front of a familiar audience.

Older brother Preston caddied for Grace during the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur. The two will be the first sister-brother combination to play college golf simultaneously at Arizona State. (Chris Keane/USGA)

But there was one more element that aided in Grace’s choice: the ASU women’s team lost its top player this fall. Linn Grant, a 22-year-old from Sweden, left the program to turn pro, immediately securing full LPGA and LET status. Her departure meant the Sun Devils had just six players on their roster, and head coach Missy Farr-Kaye was eager to have Summerhays start as soon as she could. Farr-Kaye has a feeling the newcomer can bring a new “spark” to her already solid team, ranked No. 21 in the final WGCA coaches’ poll of the fall.

“I’ll see pictures where she’s duking it out with Jon Rahm and Tony Finau. I love that,” Farr-Kaye said. “The cool part is that it doesn’t faze her. She told me, ‘I really don’t want to play junior golf for six more months, I’m ready. Let’s do it.’ A year ago, I wondered if this was the right thing for her, but I think everything’s really fallen into place organically. She’s ready to go.”

One of the keys to Summerhays’ development as a golfer has been her willingness to push herself. And in college, she’ll encounter brand new forces fueling that inner fire. “Playing for a coach, playing to represent your team, your school—I’m excited for those new challenges,” Summerhays said. “And I think they’ll help me prepare for the rest of my golf career.”

 

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A post shared by Boyd Summerhays (@boydsummerhaysgolf)

Boyd Summerhays has raised all of his kids under the philosophy that you have to put yourself in uncomfortable situations to train yourself to become comfortable. Playing against tough competition is the only way to truly simulate that challenge.

“The fact that she wants to play in a Korn Ferry Tour event.” Boyd said, “she knows that everyone’s going to watch, she knows that if she botches it people are going to be like ‘What’s she doing?’ She doesn’t care. She wants to push herself.”

Playing in a college team environment will surely present new challenges for a 17-year-old, but it’s nothing Summerhays doesn’t think she can handle with the experience she already has under her belt. Plus, she’ll be right there with her older brother, who she’s trained with practically every day for five years.

“Watch out,” Farr-Kaye said, “This girl has no fear.”

The post ‘This girl has no fear’: Junior standout with familiar last name is starting her college career early appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On their own, the Sunnehanna, Northeast, North & South, Trans-Miss, Southern, Pacific Coast and Western Amateurs all hold significant places in the men’s golf landscape. Collectively they have been conducting championships for more than 680 years. By creating a summer-long competition that incorporates them all, officials believe there’s a greater potential to showcase amateur golf.

The centrepiece of the series is a competition for the Elite Amateur Cup. Golfers earn World Amateur Golf Rankings points through their finishes in each individual tournament, and the player with the most points overall will be declared the Cup winner. In turn, plans are for that player to receive a sponsor’s invitation into a PGA Tour. According to the Elite Amateur Golf Series website, the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship will offer an exemption.

The website (eliteamateurgolfseries.org) also says that the top five players in the year-end rankings will get exemptions into the U.S. Amateur and into U.S. Open Final Qualifying for the next year (provided they remain amateurs). To be eligible for the season-long Cup competition, golfers will have to play in a minimum of three series events.

“Each of the championships that make up the Elite Amateur Golf Series maintains a strong reputation and long history on its own,” reads the website. “However, we know the future of amateur golf depends on collaboration, innovation and strong relationships. We leave the competition to the players on the course and focus on working together to achieve our ultimate goal—to provide highly competitive opportunities for amateur players to enhance and grow their game. When we work together to grow amateur golf, we are working together to grow the game as a whole.”

Officials with the series are also working with organizers on the Korn Ferry Tour to secure sponsor’s exemptions into a handful of other events for other top finishes in the overall EAGS rankings.

The Elite Amateur Golf Series comes more than a year after the creation of PGA Tour University, a program administered by the PGA Tour in which graduating college seniors compete for exemptions on to the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Lationamerica and the Mackenzie Tour. PGA Tour U. ranking points from college events accumulated over a two-year period through the NCAA Championship to determine and overall the rankings with top players at the end of the season earning exemptions. Texas A&M senior Sam Burnett leads the PGA Tour U. race at the end of the fall season, which earned him a spot in next month’s Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.

The post This intriguing new series is about to shake up men’s amateur golf in the U.S. appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By GolfDigestme.com
Korea’s Youmin Hwang and China’s Xiaowen Yin lead a strong field as the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship (WAAP) gets underway at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Wednesday, with four local golfers also hoping for glory as they represent the UAE in one of the most important tournament s on the calendar for players in the Asia-Pacific region.

Hwang and Yin, the fourth and seventh ranked players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, will feature in the third edition of the championship organised by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), while the hosts will be represented by UAE national team regulars Alia Al Emadi and Hamda Al Suwaidi, as well as India’s Natalii Gupta and Hannah Cheryl Alan, who have been nominated by Emirates Golf Federation.

All will be battling it out for an important win which would secure places in three major championships – the AIG Women’s Open, The Amundi Evian Championship and the Hana Financial Group Championship, as well as an invitation to play in the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur. A total of 78 players from 24 APGC nations are taking part this week.

Youmin Hwang.

The championship was won in its inaugural year by Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, who is currently leading the LET’s Race to Costa Del Sol ranking, and by Japan’s Yuka Yasuda in 2019, while Yuka Saso of the Philippines and Thailand’s Patty Tavanakit both became major winners this year after playing the inaugural WAAP in Singapore.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive at The R&A, said, “Our aims for this championship are to provide a platform for talented players and, in many cases, aspiring professionals to shine while also inspiring emerging players to learn to compete at the highest level.”

Taimur Hassan, chairman of APGC, added, “Over the years, our women players have led the way in major professional championships or global amateur events. We had a wonderful week with our men’s event in Dubai last week and we hope to continue the same at the fantastic Abu Dhabi Golf Club with our leading women golfers. With the help of the Emirates Golf Federation we are able to host this wonderful championship once again.”

Xiaowen Yin.

The four days of the championship will be broadcast live for four hours from 6am-10am GMT (10am-2pm UAE time) on TV across the region, as well as live streamed through The R&A’s YouTube and Facebook channels and on RandA.org. This continues The R&A’s summer of live golf coverage after the finals of The 118th Women’s Amateur Championship and The 126th Amateur Championship as well as the 41st Curtis Cup were also digitally broadcast on all these channels.

The WAAP was developed by The R&A and APGC to unearth emerging talent and provide a pathway for Asia’s elite women amateurs to the international stage. The R&A launched the Women in Golf Charter in 2018 and is committed to increasing the participation of women in the sport. The WAAP is one of several key championships conducted by the governing body and a significant initiative along with the APGC to drive the popularity of women’s golf in the region.

The post Four UAE hopefuls part of 2021 Women’s Asia-Pacific Championship field set to take starter’s orders at Abu Dhabi G.C. today appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
That Bo Jin leads the 12th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship through 36 holes comes as no surprise when you discover the proud institutional and unlikely local course knowledge the Chinese teen has in his armoury.

The 19-year-old from Beijing fired a bogey-free, seven-under 64 at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Thursday to rocket to the summit of the leaderboard at -8, a shot ahead of five players including Japan’s world amateur No.1 Keita Nakajima (68), Australian Connor McKinney (65) and the Korean trio of Sam Choi (68), Baekjun Kim (66) and Wooyoung Cho (68).

Jin is the younger brother of 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Cheng so knows exactly what it takes to win the event and all the benefits of doing so, namely invites to the Masters and The Open.

RELATED: UAE No.1 Amhad Skaik looks to cash-in on unexpected weekend play at the Asia-Pacific Amateur

The Oklahoma State University sophomore is also good buddies with Cowboys golf team-mate Rayhan Thomas, the Dubai-prodigy who just happens to be the owner of the Creek course record, a giddy circuit in 61 strokes during a 2017 MENA Tour event that included a world-record tying nine successive birdies. Don’t forget either that Thomas was runner-up at the 2018 ACC representing India so knows a thing or two about contesting in the region’s premier event too.

“I have learned a lot from Cheng but when we get to the golf course, I definitely want to beat him,” said Jin, who made five homeward birdies in his second round.

“When he won the championship [at Clearwater Bay Golf Club in Hong Kong], I was so excited because it meant that I could go to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club along with him. Obviously, he hasn’t told me much about this golf course but I get plenty of good insight into life and golf from him and yes, I want to win the championship like he did.”

Thomas’ advice, meanwhile, has thus far proved invaluable.

“Rayhan is a great guy and a very good friend of mine. We sat down before coming here, and he gave me a lot of good advice, like how grainy the greens become and how to putt on them. And how the course is rather short and why I should practice my wedges more than my long irons, and things like that. It definitely played a role in my round today.”

On his round of 64, Jin added: “I just played really well. Putting wasn’t the best but I hit it pretty well and pretty close to the hole and grabbed one or two on the front nine. Then on the back nine everything started rolling in, which was pretty awesome.

“The biggest change from the first round was the double bogey I made on the ninth hole yesterday. It was mental mistakes really. And I am happy that I did not repeat them today.”

Defending champion Yuxin Lin of China made a double bogey on the par-4 closing hole and dropped down to four-under-par 138, four strokes off the lead.

Exactly 50 players from 15 countries, including the UAE’s Ahmad Skaik and Jordan’s Shergo Kurdi, made the cut at two over par. Fellow MENA Tour regular Arjun Gupta missed the weekend after rounds of 75-73 to finish +6.

The post Dubai prodigy Rayhan Thomas has helped a Chinese teen with family history to the halfway lead at the Asia Pacific appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The South Korean actually made two splashes on the 2nd hole at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club en-route to a potentially week-ruining snowman eight on the tricky par-4.

RELATED: World No.1 and defending champion ominously positioned in seven-way Asia-Pacific lead at Dubai Creek

Thankfully Lee recovered to sign for a 73, just two over par, and isn’t out of it with the leaders, all seven of them, at -4.

Check out the footage of Lee’s “little event” here:

South Korea’s Jun Min Lee made a splash during Round 1 of #AAC2021 ? We caught up with him after his round to learn more ? pic.twitter.com/xkBqkherMA

— Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (@AAC_Golf) November 3, 2021

At least Lee could see the funny side of things afterwards.

“So I had a little event on No. 2. Fell in the water,” he said.

“It was a poor tee shot and poor layup and I was stuck behind the rocks and I was trying to get it out in the front right of the green or front right fringe and I was like, man, I’ve got a stance, I’ve got this, I’ve got this,” he explained later.

“So, I’m over it, I’m over it, getting ready, hit the shot and next thing I know, I throw my club and I’m falling back, ball is in the water.  Overall, it’s a pretty eventful start to the day on hole 2.”

Worst of all, as the coverage shows, Lee had to jump back in to retrieve his doubly un-cooperative wedge.

Interviewer: So yourself and the ball, unfortunately, went in the drink?

“And my wedge. So I get out, and the guys are like, hey, your wedge is still back in there.  I’m really wet at that point, so all I’ve got to do is get back in, grab my wedge and get back out.

“If you base your whole entire day off bad shots, you’re never going to be successful.”

Interviewer: And you walked off with?

“An eight. Big number.”

Thankfully Lee’s day got better as he eventually dried out, even if his ball kept wanting a swim.

Photo: ACC

“I was five over through three.  Went quad, bogey and rest of the day went pretty well.  Shot 2 over total.  Made a couple little mistakes.  Hit it in the water on 18 to finish.  Made a bogey there.  But other than that, I think I had like five or six birdies after that and two bogeys, two or three bogeys.  So had a decent round I guess, went from 5 over to 2 over. “

Admirably a member of life’s half glass full camp, Lee is confident he can get his title tilt back on track on Thursday.

“One hundred percent, yeah. I think you can’t really get rid of bad shots. Bad shots just kind of happen. So if you base your whole entire day off bad shots, you’re never going to be successful.

“You’ve got to look at the positives of the day, and I think I putted pretty well for the most part. Hit really good iron shots, and had one bad hole. So, I’m pretty confident.”

Confident and cunning if his answer to a question about aiming away from the water on the 2nd is any indication from here on in.

“I guess so.”

The post WATCH this South Korean amateur quite literally make the biggest splash on day 1 at the Asia-Pacific appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Special Correspondent
Many of the finest players in the region will battle it out for the coveted Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) crown when the 12th edition of the championship is contested at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club from November 3-6.

Japan’s Keita Nakajima and China’s Yuxin Lin are two of the most compelling stories at this year’s event. Nakajima will be entering the championship as the reigning No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), while the two-time AAC champion Lin aims to surpass 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama (2010, 11) and become the first player to win the title three times.

However, with the region attempting to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, which denied many players competitive action for a long period of time, the field will be hungry to make its mark in the Asia-Pacific region’s most integral amateur championship. And then there is the big motivation – a dream invitation to the 2022 Masters and the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.

Following are five players who are certain to have a say in this year’s championship:

Photograph by AAC

KEITA NAKAJIMA
Japan
WAGR (as of 20 October 2021): 1

The 21-year-old becomes only the fourth active WAGR No. 1 player to compete in the AAC, joining Matsuyama, Japan’s Takumi Kanaya and Australia’s Curtis Luck. He took over as the top-ranked amateur in the world when Kanaya – his compatriot, best friend and 2018 AAC champion – turned professional. The Tokyo-based Nippon Sport Science University student is making his fourth appearance in the championship and aims to finish better than his tie for second place in 2018. With amateur golf coming to a standstill in the region, he has relied on playing against the professionals on Japan Golf Tour since the beginning of 2020, winning once at the Panasonic Open, finishing inside the top 10 three times and recording two top-20 finishes. Known for his fearless approach on the golf course, Nakajima famously decided to hit his driver on every par-4 and par-5 holes in a couple of tournaments. Earlier this year, the Mark McCormack Medal winner said his big goals for 2021 were to win a professional golf tournament as an amateur and win the Asia-Pacific Amateur title and follow in the footsteps of Hideki Matsuyama and Kanaya. He checked the initial box with his victory in the Panasonic Open, as he became just the fifth amateur to win an event in the history of that professional tour. He will excitedly attempt to accomplish the second feat at Dubai Creek.

[divider] [/divider]

SAM CHOI
Korea
WAGR: 13

The recent form of the 21-year-old University of New Mexico senior, who is majoring in communications, is sending a clear message to the fans that the AAC this year is much more than a Nakajima-Lin fight. In five events between May and July this year, Choi won the New Mexico-West Texas Amateur and Maridoe Amateur Championship, and finished runner-up in the Mountain West Conference individual championship and the Pacific Coast Amateur, advancing to a playoff in both events. In his last two events, the Wolf Pack Classic and the William H. Tucker in Albuquerque, he finished in a tie for runner-up. This marks Choi’s first appearance in the AAC, and he will be bidding to end a long drought for his country. If he makes it to the podium on Saturday, Choi will become the third Korean champion after Han Chang-Won in the inaugural 2009 edition and Lee Chang-Woo in 2013.

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Photograph by AAC

YUXIN LIN
China
WAGR: 22

The defending champ – a winner in Wellington in 2017 and Shanghai in 2019 – will not only be looking to hold on to his crown and become just the second player after Hideki Matsuyama to repeat as champion in AAC history, he will also attempt to better the Japanese legend and win the AAC title for a record third time. This marks Lin’s fifth start in the championship, and after finishing tied for 21st in his debut appearance in South Korea (2016), his worst finish was a tie for ninth place in Singapore in 2018. With the Beijing-born Lin’s ability to bring out the best in his game at AAC, the University of Florida southpaw will always be counted among the pre-championship favourites.

[divider] [/divider]

PUWIT ANUPANSUEBSAI
Thailand
WAGR: 42

Despite producing several professional players who have made a mark for themselves on the world stage, Thailand has yet to have a player raise the trophy at the AAC. One of the major reasons often offered for this is that Thai players tend to turn professional at a very early age. Not Anupansuebsai though. The 22-year-old, a senior at San Diego State University, decided on a full college career, and is in prime position to add Thailand to the championship’s annals. A two-time member of the International Team in the Arnold Palmer Cup, he won all three of his matches in 2021. Across a six-week stretch of college golf in April through May this year, he won twice and finished second in two other starts. Standing 5 ft. 3 in., Anupansuebsai packs a punch in his slender frame, but make no mistake – he is ready to reach tall heights.

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Arjun Gupta lets it rip off the 9th tee during this year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. (Andrew Redington/Getty Image)

ARJUN GUPTA
India
WAGR: 202

While the 17-year-old Indian may not be ranked as highly as some of his fellow competitors, he has a unique edge over the field – born and raised in Dubai, Gupta has the best local knowledge of the field on how to tackle the course at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. Gupta won the Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship in December last year, which earned him a place in the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He also participated in the U.S. Junior Amateursthis year and reached the round of 16. Interestingly, Gupta’s twin sister, Natalii, has been nominated by the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) to play under the UAE flag in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, which is being held the week after the AAC in Abu Dhabi.

The post Five players to watch when Dubai Creek hosts the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Strege
It was a steep hill to climb for Mark Costanza on Friday, so steep that had he scaled it he might have considered himself on the top of the world. Instead, it was Stewart Hagestad who was occupying rarified air in the end, becoming the sixth multiple winner of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in its 40-year history.

Hagestad, who won the Mid-Amateur in 2016, defeated Costanza, 2 and 1, closing him out with a 35th-hole birdie at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Nantucket, Mass. It derailed an impressive comeback bid by Costanza, who was 7 down through 11 holes and 5 down after the first 18 holes of the 36-hole final played over two days because of weather issues earlier in the week.

“It’s amazing,” Hagestad said about joining the list of multiple winners. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t somewhat read up on the history and guys that have won two, and it’s an honour to have my name on that trophy twice.”

The victory earns Hagestad an exemption into the U.S. Open at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass., next summer, as well as a likely invitation to the 2022 Masters. In the 2017 Masters, Hagestad, 30, a Newport Beach, Calif., resident, became the first Mid-Amateur to make the cut at Augusta National and was low amateur.

A USC graduate who is in his second year of an MBA program there, Hagestad did not win a hole on Friday until the clincher on the 17th green.

It is all over! @s_hagestad is once again the #USMidAm champion!

The first and only hole he won the entire morning is the one that closed out the match and earned him the ?

Final Scores: https://t.co/7qHjyXE3Zr pic.twitter.com/KmIKRGjk3n

— USGA (@USGA) October 1, 2021

“He gave me nothing the whole day,” he said. “I thought that at some point I would maybe get a break or he would give me a hole, which I wouldn’t say would stop the bleeding but would at least create some kind of a buffer. When I hit a great putt at the first hole, I had like an eight-footer and it went high, I think that the feeling of that match maybe pivots a little, or it changes just a little.”

Costanza, 32, a Morristown, N.J., investment banker on the first stage of his honeymoon (he and wife Meredith were married on Sept. 18 and were headed to Italy later on Friday), methodically chipped away at the deficit, finally reducing it to a single hole with a birdie on the 31st hole, No. 13 at Sankaty Head. But his comeback stalled there, and when he missed a 10-foot birdie attempt at 17, Hagestad followed by holing a four-footer for birdie to win.

“I said if I could get it to 3 [down] at the end of the day yesterday, that would have been great,” Costanza said. “But to get it to 5 was satisfactory and gave me a chance. I knew I needed to get off to a good start. The birdie I made on three [on Friday] was huge. That was a tough shot, and I hit a great 4-iron in there, and I think that kind of just set the tone and relaxed me almost for the day. Just started playing well from there.”

But Hagestad, a veteran of 24 United States Golf Association championships and playing in his fifth Mid-Amateur, was not rattled by Costanza’s charge.

“I knew that he would come out swinging,” Hagestad said. “He’s a really good player. He gave me a couple holes yesterday. I knew I wouldn’t get that from him today. But I tried to go out and I tried to basically make him beat me, and he damn near did that. He’s a tremendous competitor. He’s a great player. He’s a super guy. I had a feeling that I was going to get his best today, and he sure earned my respect for sure.”

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The ambitious Emirates Amateur Golf League (EAGL) has secured a live telecast of its June 20 EAGL Mini-Series event, a precursor to the world-first franchise-based league slated for a November start.

Dubai Sports Channel will do the honours covering the 9-hole dress rehearsal with experienced TV and radio broadcaster, Graham Clews, fronting the commentary from the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. International audiences will also have the opportunity to watch the telecast live through EAGL social media channels including YouTube and Facebook.

“Live broadcast is a very special part of our EAGL project, a unique selling proposition for us because no other amateur event like this has ever been broadcast,” said Sudesh Aggarwal, EAGL Founder.

“Given the wide expanse of the playing field, capturing live golf is a challenge. It’s a massive job to cover the golf course and then turn it around into a live feed. However, I am convinced that it will differentiate us from other amateur events and it will provide the professional-like atmosphere that we want all our players to experience.”

The team behind the EAGL including founder Sudesh Aggarwal (third from left).

The 9-hole Mini-Series tournament, which will be played as a par-36 over 3,397 yards on the Greg Norman-designed golf course, will provide a taster of what is to come later this year in the main EAGL event. On Sunday, eight four-man teams will be going head-to-head followed by a Golf Forum, Gala Dinner and prize presentation against the backdrop of the final round of the US Open from Torrey Pines.

To register your interest in the EAGL Series proper as a player, sponsor or team owner, please visit eagl.ae.

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By Kent Gray
Josh Hill had hoped to slip under the media radar this UK summer, freeing himself of added pressure in his efforts to refine his pro-tour bound game and importantly reignite competitive embers dulled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The only problem with that commendable plan is that the 17-year-old Dubai-based English Boys’ representative works far too hard and possesses way too much game to stay in stealth mode for long.

After a rare missed cut at the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Southerness G.C. late last month, Hill’s name is back in lights and at the Home of Golf no less. The world record holder as the youngest winner of an OWGR event will enter the final day of the prestigious St Andrews Links Trophy on Sunday just one stroke off compatriot Charlie Thornton’s halfway pace.

After an opening-round 70 on the Jubilee course, Hill joined Ireland’s Richard Knightly on -6, 138 courtesy of a 68 in his second round on the Old Course on Saturday. It left the duo a shot shy of Thornton (66-71) heading into the final two rounds, both on the fabled Old Course.

Hill’s four-under circuit of golf’s spiritual birthplace was the second equal best score of Saturday’s second round and three strokes better than all but one player in the top-13.

That will undoubtedly give the MENA Tour winner confidence heading into what could be a pivotal and especially memorable Sunday of his amateur career. At worst, it is golden opportunity for Hill to skyrocket up the World Amateur Golf Rankings from his current position of 313th, down from career-best ranking of 257th.

The top 40 players and ties play the final round of the St Andrews Trophy which boasts former U.S. Open champion and Ryder Cup star Justin Rose among its former champions.

Established in 1989, the event is considered one of the world’s top amateur tournaments and has served as a launch pad for major championship-bound careers including Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy, Padraig Harrington, Rose, Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari.  Lee Westwood is another former starter in an event that ranks as one of the strongest in the British Isles outside of The Amateur Championship, the 126th edition of which Hill intends contesting at Nairn, also in Scotland, from June 14.

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