Brown is U.S. Senior Am Medalist as 12-for-7 Playoff Looms

August 27, 2017 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

David Brown sports his medal for topping the 156-<br>man field in stroke play qualifying (USGA photo)

Update: 12-for-7 playoff completed in two holes; match play field now set; David Brown shoots 6-under to medal by two shots

Playoff Update: The 12-for-7 playoff teed off at just after 7:00am Monday morning, with players going off in three foursomes off of the 423-yard par-four 10th hole at The Minikahda Club. In the first group, Gordon Marshall, Dave Szewczul, and Jay Sessa made pars while Rusty Brown made bogey. In the second group, Bryan Norton and Robert Johnson made par while William Charpek and Reid Sheftall made bogey. In the the third group, Michael Rowley, Craig Steinberg and Scott Smith made par while Keith Holmes made a bogey.

Since 8 players made par, the 4 who made bogey were eliminated and the 8 went on to the 180-yard par-three 11th hole. Sessa, Rowley, Norton and Steinberg all made par, while Marshall, Szewczul and Smith all made bogey. When Johnson made a double-bogey five, he was eliminated and the other 7 advanced to the match play round.

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 27, 2017) - David Brown of Ligonier, PA is the stroke play medalist at the U.S. Senior Amateur after 36 holes at The Minikahda Club.

Brown was the co-leader after an opening four-under 68, then added a two-under 70 to finish at 6-under 138. He was the only player to break par in both rounds.

Related: U.S. Senior Amateur: Difficult Scoring in a Wet 1st Round
Related: TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: U.S. Senior Amateur Live Updates

Some thoughtful words from David Brown upon receiving his medal:

Very nice words from #USSeniorAm medalist David Brown. He'll be the top seed in match play, which begins on Monday at 8 a.m. CDT. pic.twitter.com/VdsK8jCfcn
— USGA (@USGA) August 28, 2017

Two shots behind Brown are a trio of players that includes last year's runner-up Matt Sughrue of Arlington, VA, who was tied with Brown on day one. Sughrue shot an even-par 72 to finish at four-under 140.

Also at four under are Mitch Wilson (Portage, MI) and Chuck Palmer (Dallas, TX), both of whom shot 72-68.

The defending champion Dave Ryan of Taylorsville, IL is safely through to match play, finishing tied for fifth in qualifying at two under (73-69--142). He is tied with Tim Jackson (Germantown, TN), the 1994 and 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and two-time Walker Cupper.

Other USGA champions to make match play include Chip Lutz (2015 U.S. Senior Amateur), George “Buddy” Marucci Jr. (2008 U.S. Senior Amateur), Paul Simson (2010 and 2012 U.S. Senior Amateur), Doug Hanzel (2013 U.S. Senior Amateur), Patrick Tallent (2014 U.S. Senior Amateur), and George Zahringer (2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur).

The cut fell at 8-over 152, with 69 players at that number or lower. Since the field has to be cut to exactly 64 players for match play, a 12-man playoff for the final 7 match play spots will be held early Monday morning.

Playoff Participants

77-75--152 Keith Holmes (Macon, GA)
75-77--152 Scott Smith (Houston, TX)
74-78--152 Reid Sheftall (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)
72-80--152 Michael Rowley (San Luis Obispo, CA)
76-76--152 Craig Steinberg (Agoura Hills, CA)
77-75--152 Jay Sessa (Garden City, NY)
75-77--152 Rusty Brown (Phoenix, AZ)
77-75--152 Bryan Norton (Mission Hills, KS)
74-78--152 Robert Johnson (Vacaville, CA)
77-75--152 Gordon Marshall (Sarasota, FL)
77-75--152 Dave Szewczul (Farmington, CT)
74-78--152 William Charpek (Red Bank, NJ)

16 of our 18 Players to Watch at the U.S. Senior Amateur are still alive in the championship; 14 are safely through to match play and 2 more will be in the Monday playoff.

Related: SCORING UPDATE: Players to Watch at the U.S. Senior Am

About the U.S. Senior Amateur

Brown is U.S. Senior Am Medalist as 12-for-7 Playoff Looms

The USGA Senior Amateur is open to those with a USGA Handicap Index of 5.4 or lower, who are 55 or older on or before the day the qualifying begins, usually in August. It is one of 15 national championships conducted annually by the USGA.

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