Austin Greaser won the 80th annual Northern Kentucky Amateur

Greaser, from nearby Vandalia, Ohio, took advantage of the first competitive golf he’s played in since the COVID-19 pandemic cut his freshman season short.

“I worked really hard on my game,” Greaser told AmateurGolf.com. “I worked hard the last three months, looking forward to my first competitive round and I got a chance this week. The hard work came through and treated me well this week.”

Sitting at 4-under through the first two rounds, Greaser shot a tournament-low 6-under 65 on Thursday, clearing the field by six shots and just missed tying the course record of 63.

Greaser caught fire on the closing nine with four-straight birdies on hole Nos. 12 through 15 before capping off the tournament with a birdie on the par-4 18th.

Tournament director Kevin Stanton of the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association said that the field was one of the deepest and most competitive fields in recent history. As we have discussed in our article about the Return of the State Amateur, players not traveling to cancelled tournaments are staying closer to home and playing state and regional events.

With 3-under winning last year’s tournament, Stanton was impressed with the Tar Heel’s performance.

“He [Greaser] set the tone,” Stanton said. “10-under is really balling. He played really well.”

Behind Greaser was a pair of Cincinnati Bearcats. Freshman Ty Gingerich finished in solo second at 3-under just ahead of Bearcat teammate junior Joe McCarthy who finished at 1-under-par.

With tournament golf opening back up, Greaser expects to keep the momentum going over the summer before heading back to Chapel Hill in August.

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