WIRE TO WIRE
USC’s Suh ties tournament record at 15-under
EAST PROVIDENCE – Sebastian Crampton, a University of California-Berkeley senior-to-be, had just fired a superb three-under round of 66 in the final round of the 57th annual Northeast Amateur Invitational Tournament at Wannamoisett Country Club on Saturday afternoon, and – not surprisingly – seemed thrilled by the fact he owned the event lead at that point.
With that score, one in which he managed in each of the last three rounds, he finished with a four-day total of nine-under 267.
“This is my first year playing (in the Northeast), and the course is just perfect for my game,” he stated. “I absolutely loved it; the greens are in awesome condition, as are the fairways. I think my success was a combination of things. I putted well, and I was pretty much able to stay out of trouble. You can hit a lot of good shots here, but if you’re three or feet left or right, it’ll make you pay.
“It seems like if you hit to one side (of the fairway or green), you’re going to bogey or double. The key is not getting frustrated.”
Despite his elation, there was a hint of disappointment in Crampton’s demeanor.
“Of course, I’m not going to win it,” he stated as he placed items in his golf bag. “Justin’s playing out of his mind, but he always does. He’s the PAC-12 Player of the Year for a reason. I’m not surprised at all with what he’s doing.”
Crampton, himself a second-team All-PAC 12 selection, had referred to Justin Suh, a University of Southern California wunderkind and foe in which he’s most familiar. He played in the same conference championship event that Suh captured over a month ago.
“He’s playing so well,” Crampton said as Suh was still in the process of assembling a tie for the finest four-round total in the history of this storied tourney.
Suh – a San Jose, Calif. resident – closed with a terrific 66 himself to muster an astonishing 15-under 261 to defeat the runner-up Golden Bear by six strokes.
After shooting an opening-round six-under 63, he assembled rounds of 65 and 67. The 261 happened to knot 2011 champion (and Providence Country Day grad) Peter Uihlein for the best aggregate ever, but his margin of victory was the greatest since Jonathan Byrd eclipsed Aaron Baddeley by seven in 1999.
He also led wire-to-wire; the last linkster to do that: Stewart Jolly four years ago.
“I had no idea (I tied the record),” Suh grinned afterward. “That’s just an extra bonus … This feels unbelievable. This is always known as such a big event, one of the best. With the competitors in the field, I know this is one of their favorite events to come out to.”
He admitted he had been invited to Wannamoisett before but always opted to attend the California Amateur Championship, held the same week, instead.
“I wish I had played here sooner,” he noted. “To get the win my first time out here, it means a lot.”
Davidson University product Will Gordon (71) landed third at six-under 270, while Davis Shore, an Alabama sophomore-to-be, (67) finished a shot back at 271. Five others tied for sixth and two others for 11th, and Houston’s Cole Hammer sat alone in 13th (68-274) and Newport Beach, Calif. Mid-Am Stewart Hagestad 14t (70, 275).
Davis Chatfield of Attleboro and Matt Parziale of Brockton led a group of five knotted in 13th at even-par 276.
Suh, who led by three entering the final day, birdied the first hole, but then suffered two bogeys over the next four before ironing out his game once again. He added a birdie on the eighth, then three more on the 10th, 14th and par-five 17th to claim the blue jacket.
He mentioned his lone errant shot occurred on the par-4 fifth; it landed in a bunker and resulted in his final bogey of the afternoon.
“It wasn’t a great start, but I was aware of where Austin (Squires of Union, Ky.) was because he was in my group,” he stated. “It was tough because the wind changed from what it’s been all week. It was just a good week besides. It seemed pretty flawless.”
He gave credit to his caddy, Chris Alba, a club member along with his parents.
“We clicked right away,” Suh offered. “He adapted to my game really quick. He was (actually) bossy, calling me off shots and recommending clubs. Thanks to him it was a really good week.”
Next up for Suh: He will prepare for the U.S. Palmer Cup in less than two weeks, continue playing in assorted tourneys then return to USC for his senior year.
“I decided pretty early on I was going to finish up school,” stated Suh, who’s majoring in business administration. “Mentally, it’s a lot more comforting having a paper in hand when you go out there. Paper (a degree) from USC means a lot. It’s what I’ve looked forward to for quite a while.”
To no great surprise, Suh becomes the third straight Golden Stater to snare the Northeast title – Cal-Berkeley’s Collin Morikawa reigned last summer (with an 11-under 265) and Malibu’s Fred Wedel the year prior (six-under 270).
Shore indicated he was ecstatic with his 67 and tie for fourth with San Jose, Costa Rica’s Luis Gagne at 271. He manufactured four birdies, but double-bogeyed the parthree 15th.
“I’m really happy (because) I haven’t been playing well this year,” he noted. “I finished one shot out of the top 10 at the Dogwood Invitational and Sunnehanna Am, so I wanted to place in the top 10 here coming into (Saturday).
“Only one hole let me down, really,” he continued. “On the 15th, I made the wrong swing and paid for it. The good news was I made up for it with birdies on the 16th, 17th and 18th.”
When asked his thoughts about Suh’s accomplishments the previous four days, Shore smiled.
“He’s playing amazing,” he sighed. “The course isn’t easy. You’ve got to keep the ball in the fairway; if you don’t, there’s no way you’re going to be able to hit it on the green, not from that rough. And if you do hit it, it’s not going to be anywhere close.”
57TH ANNUAL NORTHEAST AMATEUR INVITATIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT At Wannamoisett Country Club (par 69)
LEADERBOARD
Justin Suh (San Jose, CA) 63-65-67-66 – 261 Sebastian Crampton 69-66-66-66 – 267 Will Gordon 66-64-69-71 – 270 Davis Shore (Knoxville, TN) 69-68-67-67 – 271 Luis Gagne (, Costa Rica) 69-65-69-68 – 271 Austin Squires (Union, KY) 63-70-66-73 – 272 Andrew Paysse (Temple, TX) 67-69-67-69 – 272 Jacob Bergeron (Slidell, LA) 65-66-72-69 – 272 John Augenstein (Ownesboro) 71-68-68-65 – 272 Joshua McCarthy (Danville, CA) 67-68-63-74 – 272 Luke Schniederjans (Alpharetta) 69-70-68-66 – 273 Patrick Martin (Birmingham, AL) 67-68-67-71– 273 Cole Hammer (Houston, TX) 74-68-64-68 – 274 Stewart Hagestad 73-67-65-70 – 275 Davis Chatfield (Attleboro) 70-65-69-72 – 276 Spencer Soosman 65-70-71-70 – 276 Travis Vick (Houston, TX) 73-69-65-69 – 276 Isaiah Salinda (San Francisco) 66-70-71-69 – 276 Jose Montano (Bolivia) 71-71-65-69 – 276 Matt Parziale (Brockton, MA) 72-65-73-66 – 276 Andy Zhang (Beijing, China) 71-68-68-70 – 277 Sam Stevens (Wichita, KS) 69-67-70-71 – 277 Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, MS) 75-65-69-68 – 277 Collin Morikawa (La Canada, CA)67-69-72-69 – 277 Noah Goodwin (Corinth, TX) 69-71-70-67 – 277