Early play leads Mirams to win
ND-East Stroudsburg grad beats defending champ Juhasz, then beats Tresslar for title
William Mirams, the 19-yearold 2018 PIAA state champion out of Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg, played some of the best golf of his career Sunday morning to defeat top-seeded defending champ Zach Juhasz at the 84th Lehigh Valley Amateur golf tournament.
Mirams made six birdies in 15 holes to eliminate Juhasz, 5-and3, from the 64-player championship flight.
The aspiring orthodontist wasn’t as sharp in his afternoon final against former champ Justin Tresslar, but he was clutch enough and steady enough to score a 5-and-3 triumph to capture the title in his first LV Amateur at Green Pond Country Club.
“This win is definitely up there with any others,” said Mirams, the only four-time District 11 golf champion. “This is the local tournament everyone in the area is familiar with.
“I’ve never had this many people follow me on the course. It was just a great experience.
“Compared to states, it’s completely different. This one was for me; states was for my school and for me.”
Mirams, a sophomore at the University of Delaware, turned a tentative one-hole advantage at the midway point into a relatively comfortable victory, highlighted by back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes of the final round.
His uphill 25-foot birdie putt on No. 4 (the 13th hole of the round) put him ahead by four shots, and he put the finishing touches on his title at No. 6.
“The final definitely wasn’t as good as mymorning round,” said Mirams, who trimmed down
from 205 to 165 pounds during the spring and summer months.
“In the morning I was playing just fantastic. In the afternoon, I was making pars. Pars on this course, though, will do a lot for you. Then, I made the birdies on No. 4 and No. 5 when I needed them.”
The 12th seed overall, Mirams wasn’t the favorite to claim this year’s championship flight title, but he was certainly on the short list of top contenders.
“I mean, you don’t come into a tournament thinking you’re going to lose,” he said. “I was saying, ‘I’ve got this.’ I was nervous too.
“You have six rounds to win, and that’s six golfers playing at different times. They could be on, they could be off. I just reminded myself what I needed to do to get the job done.”
Mirams’ final-round opponent, Tresslar, outlasted Phil Ries 1-up through 19 holes in the semifinals. Tresslar never
led in the final, although he kept it close until his temper stewed and his stomach churned.
Tresslar missed birdie and par putts on the ninth hole (No. 18) and never regrouped.
“My birdie putt on 18 took a bad hop just before the hole and it rolled 6 feet past,” said the 32-year-old Saylorsburg resident. “Then I couldn’t make the par putt.
“That got under my skin a little and I know better than to let that type of thing affect me.
“Probably halfway down No. 1, I started to not feel too well. So for the next four holes, I was uneasy. It took my mind out of play and my body couldn’t physically perform the way it should’ve. William played well, though.”
For Mirams, this could be the first of many LV Amateur appearances.
He has opted to not continue his college golf career in order to focus fully on his academics.
But he said he plans to continue to enter local events.
“I’m not too sure where my [golf ] future is taking me,” Mirams said, “but I’m playing pretty good golf right now. I definitely feel like I could play for any team.”
Overall, 13 golfers in different divisions and flights earned titles on championship Sunday at Green Pond, including former area high school basketball coach Kyle Hutnik in the presidential flight and Palmerton sophomore Tyler Hager in the junior flight.
Putting together this year’s tournament during the coronavirus pandemic was a challenge, according to Green Pond professional John Kulhamer.
He reported, however, that there were more player applications and sponsors than in any previous year.
“Everything was different,” Kulhamer said. “The logistical side, the social distancing and
the hospitality.
“We went to live scoring for the first time and that was absolutely fantastic. I think the whole thing went off just fantastic.
“It’s always a great week.”