Around the Green

Quarterfinals Set for the Mid-Amateur Match Play

San Antonio – On Friday, the 2013 Mid-Amateur Match Play
Championship made a transition from the stroke play format used in the
qualifying round, to a grueling 36-hole day of match play. 32 players returned
to Oak Hills Country Club on Friday with intentions of advancing, but at the
end of the day, only eight of them will be left standing. With higher temperatures and firm, fast
conditions on the golf course, it was sure to be an exciting day of golf.

The round of 32 matches started promptly at 7:30am with
qualifying round medalist and #1 seed Clarke Kincaid pitted against qualifying
round playoff survivor and #32 seed, Kip Estep. The two players traded punches
for the first nine holes, making the turn at all square. On the back nine,
Kincaid took the quick 1-up lead on the 10th and never looked back. Kincaid went
on to make an eagle on the par-5, 15^th hole to increase his lead to
2-up and then finished the match at the 16^th with a par to defeat
Estep 3&2. Teeing off later in the morning was Oak Hills member Zan Terry
and Chris Germann of Austin. Terry, who made it through qualifying as the
co-medalist with Kincaid, went 1-down early in the match after making a double
bogey on the first hole. Terry went on to make a birdie at the 4^th
to even the match heading to the 5^th hole. Terry would win the 5^th,
along with two of the last four on the front side to make the turn at 3-up. On
the back side, the players took turns winning holes with Terry extending his
lead to 4-up on the 14^th before ending the match on the 17^th
hole for a 2&1 victory. Other notable winners in the round of 32 include Ed
Sanchez, Aaron Hickman, Colby Harwell, and Mike Booker. Of the 32 players that started
the day, 16 would be moving on to the afternoon matches.

The round of 16 matches started at 1:00pm, giving players
time for some lunch and a quick rest. In the second match of the afternoon,
Colby Harwell defeated Peach Reynolds 5&4. Harwell got started early with a
birdie on the 2^nd hole to take the early 1-up lead. After matching
bogeys on the 3^rd hole, Harwell went on a five-hole rally that
included two birdies and three pars to take a commanding 6-up lead heading into
the back nine. Reynolds made an attempt
at a comeback with a birdie on the 11^th to cut the lead to 5-up but Harwell’s
consistent play with 5 pars to start the back nine ended the match at the 14^th
hole. 

The most exciting match of the day came with Oak Hills Country Club
member and accomplished amateur, Ed Sanchez, and Oak Hills Country Club
employee, John Perez. Sanchez started off strong making a par and a birdie on
the first two holes to take an early 2-up lead. Perez, known for being a
consistent player, then made a birdie at the 4^th hole to cut the
lead to 1-up. Sanchez then made a birdie on the difficult 6^th hole
to get back to 2-up. With a quick response, Perez made another birdie on the 8^th
hole to cut into the lead before matching pars on the 9^th hole. The
two would head to the back nine with Sanchez 1-up. Perez got started early on
the back nine with some help from Sanchez. With his opponent in trouble, Perez
hit a beautiful second shot into the par-5 that settled 25-feet from the hole.
Sanchez would concede the hole and the match would move to All Square. The
match stayed the same until the 13^th hole where par was good enough
for Sanchez to regain the 1-up lead. On the 16^th hole, Perez made a
beautiful birdie putt that broke close to 7-feet to even the match once again.
With a quick response on the 17^th, Sanchez made a 12-foot birdie of
his own to take the 1-up lead into the 18^th hole. Both players
played their tee shots safely to the green of the difficult par three, but
Perez had the clear advantage with Sanchez having to putt over a large ridge
with almost no chance of stopping the ball close to the hole. The two-putt par
from Perez was good enough to even the match and send it to extra holes. The
players returned to the 1^st hole and halved the hole with pars after
beautiful sand save by Sanchez. They would proceed to the par-3, 2^nd,
for the 20^th hole of the match. Both players missed the green long
and left with their tee shots giving them more work than they would have
wanted. Sanchez managed to get his pitch shot to 10-feet, leaving a door open
for Perez. Perez went on to hit a perfect shot from his difficult like that
nestled just inches from the cup for his par. Sanchez had a chance to continue
the match with his put but it just slid by the left edge giving Perez the win
in 20 holes.

With that, the final eight players are set to battle in the
Quarterfinals on Saturday morning at Oak Hills Country Club. For full results
and parings, please visit WWW.TXGA.ORG.