Timmy Hildebrand sets scoring record at Northern Amateur
7/21/2017 | by Yianni Gogonas of AmateurGolf.com
see also: View results for Northern Amateur, Sand Creek Country Club
Monday, Hildebrand was medalist at the U.S. Am qualifier at Sand Creek CC. By Friday he held a major trophy
CHESTERTON, Indiana (July 21, 2017) — Timmy Hildebrand had just about one of the best “work weeks” an amateur player could have on a single golf course.
On Monday he was medalist at the U.S. Amateur qualifier held at Sand Creek Country Club. By Friday he was the Northern Amateur Champion, setting the 54-hole tournament record at Sand Creek Country Club.
“I thought if I could go out and get to 9 or 10-under, it would give me a pretty good shot," Hildebrand, told AmateurGolf.com via telephone. "With a couple of guys in front of me, one of them might fall back, so my goal was to get to 9 or 10-under.”
The Purdue junior was right. In fact, 8-under-par would have good enough to win Hildebrand the title, with runner-up Ethan Farnam finishing alone at the 7-under mark.
Hildebrand decided to play pedal-down golf today though, and it payed off big.
Hildebrand set the trend for his day on the par-5 first hole, making a birdie four, not hesitating to begin narrowing the gap between he and his playing partner, Farnam. Hildebrand make an early bogey on the 3rd; however, to stretch the deficit back to three.
“Nothing really too hot early,” mentioned Hildebrand as he began to recount his round.
The real turning point in today’s events occurred at the 412-yard par-4 5th hole. Farnam, who only graduated from high school this passed June, and will be playing his collegiate golf at Northwestern, incited the swing by making a double-bogey on the hole. Hildebrand managed to add insult to injury, rolling in a birdie on the hole, and effectively leveling the score with the young Illinois native.
After that, the fireworks would begin. We'll let Hildebrand do the talking.
“I was even through about four holes and then birdied three out of my next four to get to 3-under through 8," he said. "Just birdied the par-5 and hit a couple nice shots in there. Then a nice easy birdie on 10th hole, a reachable par-5. Two-putt.
Then nothing really happened until I got to my 15th hole. I had about 235 out on the par 5 from the rough and stuck a four iron to about seven feet. Made that for eagle so that was a big point in my round and at that point I kind of felt like I was running away with it a little bit. I followed it up with a bogey that I got it back with a nice birdie on the 17th. After that eagle I felt pretty good about the rest of the day.”
Hildebrand would finish the tournament at 11-under-par, improving his scores as the event played out (70-69-66=205)
Hildebrand recorded another milestone, becoming the fourth amateur since 1971 to win the Indiana Open (against pros and amateurs) in 2015. When asked how it felt to win another one of the most prestigious events played in his home state, Hildebrand offered,
“It feels good. There’s definitely nothing like walking away from a week winning, and knowing that you went out there and beat everyone else. After a lot of good finishes, knowing that my game is in a good place, to come out and actually close one out feels pretty good.”
In the champion’s case today, he would be driving home, and not far, growing up and residing in Westfield, Indiana during the summer months.
Results: Northern Amateur
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westfield, IN | 400 | 70-69-66=205 | |
| 2 | Crystal Lake, IL | 300 | 68-68-73=209 | |
| T3 | La Jolla, CA | 200 | 73-67-70=210 | |
| T3 | Columbia, MO | 200 | 73-72-65=210 | |
| 5 | Lake Mary, FL | 200 | 70-68-73=211 |
About the Northern Amateur
Popular national amateur tournament played from 1967-2001 (with a solid list of past champions) returned to the schedule in 2011. 54-hole stroke play championship with a field of 96 players. Par-3 contest held after round 1.
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