BACK 9 RALLY SECURES U.S. AMATEUR TITLE
Piot wins U.S. Amateur with four-hole blitz on the back nine at venerable Oakmont C.C.
When he was presented the trophy for winning the 121st U.S. Amateur, James Piot glanced at his prize but did not notice some of golf’s grandest names already engraved on the hardware — Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
That’s because he was having a hard time still believing what had happened Sunday at Oakmont Country Club.
“I was just trying to see if it was real or not,” Piot said. “I couldn’t believe it. I honestly thought, ‘Did I just win the U.S. Amateur?’ That’s how unbelievable it felt at the moment.”
Well, believe it. Piot joined some of golf’s elite company when he dramatically changed the momentum by winning four consecutive holes on the back nine to beat Austin Greaser, 2 and 1, and win the USGA’s oldest championship.
Piot, a fifth-year senior at Michigan State, ended the 36-hole match in unlikely fashion — making a 20-foot putt to save par at the driveable 17th after his tee shot landed in the back bunker and his second shot rolled into another greenside bunker.
“That’s a surreal feeling to know my name is up there with some of those greats,” Piot said. “It’s a phenomenal feeling.”
It was a disappointing ending for Greaser, a junior at North Carolina, who had a 3-up lead after 27 holes but never won a hole on the back. He had a chance to extend the match to the final hole, but he missed an 8-foot birdie putt at No. 17 after his drive at the 307-yard par-4 landed just 3 feet from Piot’s ball in the back greenside bunker.
After winning four holes on the front after an opening bogey in the afternoon, Greaser, 20, never won a hole on the back.
“Who knows if I’ll ever be standing back up here like this again,” said Greaser, who is from Vandalia, Ohio. “You got the best golfers in the world, and to be able to be one the last two is something special. It’s something that I’m going to cherish for a long time.”
Playing in front of members of Michigan State’s men’s and women’s teams who drove in for the championship, Piot’s incredible four-hole turnaround began at No. 10 when he hit a 9iron from 150 yards to 3 feet. Then, after back-to-back bogeys by Greaser, Piot hit a 7iron at the 183-yard 13th to 6 feet for another birdie. Just like that, he went from 3 down to 1 up, changing the momentum of the match, not to mention Piot’s belief.
“It just felt right from there after I hit that 7-iron on the flag on 13,” Piot said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we can do it.’”
It looked as though Piot would make it five holes in a row when his pitch from in front of a greenside bunker at the 393-yard 14th stopped 18 inches for birdie. But Greaser answered with an 18-foot birdie to momentarily stop the bleeding and keep from going 2 down with four holes remaining.
“I found some magic on 14 to make one to stay in it a little bit more,” Greaser said.
But, Greaser’s drive at No. 15 found the mini-Church Pew Bunkers, forcing him to play short of the green. When he failed to get up and down for par, it grew Piot’s advantage to 2 up with three to play.
Greaser got another reprieve when Piot missed a 12foot birdie after hitting a 5iron from 223 yards at the par3 16th. But his chances ran out at No. 17 when Piot made a 20-footer to save par after going from one greenside bunker to the other and Greaser missed an 8-foot birdie.
“I honestly didn’t want to go to 18,” Piot said. “That’s such a hard hole. I was just thinking, ‘Let’s stay in the moment and get this bunker shot close.’ The putt felt so sweet, hitting it right down the center of the cup.”
Whileboth players already had earned an exemption into the 2022 U.S. Open and a likely invitation to the
Masters, Piot gets the traditional pairing with the reigning U.S. Open champion (Jon Rahm) and British Open champion (Collin Morikawa) at next year’s U.S. Open in at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
“That’s something you dream about as a kid — to play in the Masters and especially getting to play in the marquee group with those two guys,” Piot said. “It’s the coolest thing ever.”