Wetterich, Laskin lead Western Am as big names miss first cut

July 31, 2019 | by Julie Williams of AmateurGolf.com

Daniel Wetterich (Ohio State Athletics)

Wetterich is a familiar name for the top of the leaderboard, but many other familiar names were on the outside looking in.

If there’s been a theme to the leaderboards of many of the top summer amateur events this year, it has been the name Daniel Wetterich. The Ohio native, fresh out of eligibility at Ohio State, started this summer with the first-round lead – and an eventual top-5 finish – at the Dogwood Invitational. He has teed it up, and been in the conversation, nearly every week since.

Through two rounds of the Western Amateur at Point O’Woods Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Mich., Wetterich has a share of the lead with David Laskin of Elk Grove, Calif. Each player has had consistent rounds of 66-68 over the past two days, just in a different order. Wetterich’s card has only seen two bogeys.

“I wasn’t hitting the ball the greatest, but I managed my game really well and put myself in spots to make some birdies,” Wetterich told the Western Golf Association after his second-round 68.

As for Laskin, mentality was also key. He’s been working on that component of his game.

“I’ve been focusing on my mental game and how to handle tough situations,” said Laskin, a rising senior at Arizona. “It was not a great bogey on the first, but I knew I could make plenty of birdies out there.”

A senior at Arizona, Laskin posted four birdies on his second nine, punctuating his round with one from nine feet on No. 18 for his 66.

Another of Laskin’s highlights came at No. 12 when he holed a 50-foot putt over a ridge for birdie. He said he made a similar, but longer, putt on No. 11 in the first round.

“I gave it a run, and it ended up being on the right line,” he said. “It was cool to see that one go in. I joked with my caddie that I should always leave myself below ridges.”

Nine players are tied for third at 5 under, including Quade Cummins, the recent Pacific Coast Amateur champion.

What was most surprising about the second-round leaderboard was the quality of players left outside the first cut. They include defending champion Cole Hammer, Walker Cup hopefuls Steven Fisk, Isaiah Salinda and John Augenstein, and North & South winner Cooper Dossey.

Interestingly, nine men from last year’s “sweet 16” at the Western returned this year, but after Wednesday only one remains. That’s recent Players Amateur champion Spencer Ralston, who is also part of the tie for third at 5 under.

Quotes and information from the Western Golf Association used in this report

Results: Western Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
Win	Garrett Rank	, Canada	1500	72-67-70-65=274
Runner-Up	Daniel Wetterich	Cincinnati, OH	1200	66-68-69-68=271
Semifinals	Ricky Castillo	Yorba Linda, CA	900	71-66-69-68=274
Semifinals	David Laskin	Elk Grove, CA	900	68-66-74-66=274
Quarterfinals	Davis Thompson	St. Simons, GA	700	67-68-65-67=267

View full results for Western Amateur

About the Western Amateur

Wetterich, Laskin lead Western Am as big names miss first cut

Invitational event, and the most important tournament in American amateur golf outside of the U.S. Amateur. With a grueling schedule, it's quite possibly the hardest amateur tournament to win. 156 invited players come from across the globe to play on...