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7-24-09
WISCONSIN STATE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
It wasn’t pretty, but Tyler Obermueller made enough good things happen Thursday to survive a final-round bloodbath and win the Wisconsin State Golf Association State Amateur Championship at Merrill Hills CC in Waukesha. Obermueller, of River Falls GC, made three birdies, but also tacked on five bogeys and two double bogeys to shot a final-round 77.
In the end, that was good enough to win by one stroke over Miles McConnell of Odana Hills GC in Madison and Andrew Dekeuster of Meadowbrook CC in Racine. And for a little icing on the cake, Obermueller won the championship in the final tournament of his amateur career. He announced he would turn professional today on the first at the Minnesota State Open.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to go out,” Obermueller said. “I’m really excited to turn professional. I knew this was going to be my last tournament. I’ve been wanting to win this golf tournament for a long time. It feels great.”
On a day when the 70 players who made the 36-hole cut could manage no better than even par – Patrick Duffy of Butte Des Morts CC in Appleton shot 71 and moved into a tie for 14th place – there was considerable jockeying for position over the final round.
McConnell held the lead at various points during the afternoon, but he made a critical mistake on the final green when he found himself above the hole eyeing a long putt for birdie. But the putt skirted the hole and tumbled 25 feet past the hole, resulting in a costly a three-putt bogey. McConnell, playing in the second-last threesome, shot 76 in the final round.
Obermueller did what McConnell was unable to do – he parred the 18th hole when the pressure was on to win by one. However, it was his bogey on the par-5 17th hole, resulting from a wide-right tee shot, which set up the dramatic finish. For the week, Obermueller shot 71-69-71-77 to finish at 4-over-par 288.
Jordan Elsen of Kenosha CC, who entered the final round tied for the lead with Obermueller at 2 under par, also struggled, shot 80 and finished fourth. Elsen’s major problem came off the tee, and scoring from the timber at tree-lined Merrill Hills is almost impossible.
“I struggled all week with ball-striking,” Elsen said. “Obviously, I know what I need to work on.”
Six-time State Amateur champion Mark Bemowski had similar difficulties finding the fairway on the back nine Thursday. Bemowski, who was in the final threesome with Obermueller and Elsen, also shot a final-round 80.
Obermueller, Elsen and Bemowski each shot 41 on the front nine.
Obermueller, 22, finished his collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin this spring. Elsen will be a senior at UW this fall.
“(Obermueller) is probably one of my best friends, and it was a lot of fun going to college with him,” Elsen said. “I’m really happy for him. Obviously, I wish it had been me, and I wish I had played a little bit better, but it’s good to see a buddy win the State Am.”
Meanwhile, Dekeuster, a recent Northwestern University graduate who walked on the Wildcats team as a sophomore, made a charge up the leaderboard with a round of 73.
“If you would have told me at the beginning of the day that I would shoot another 73 and end up tied for second, I would have taken it,” Dekeuster said afterward. “It was tough out there today. There were some really good pins out there.”
Obermueller is the first left-hander to win the Wisconsin State Amateur since Ryan Quinn of Galesville won back-to-back titles in 2001-02.
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