- UTSA photo
Adam House, a senior at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) battled his way to a win at the 2020 Greater San Antonio Men’s Match Play Championship.
Shooting a one-over 73 to qualify T-5, House was the 10-seed heading into the match play portion.
“I didn’t play my best golf,” House told AmateurGolf.com. “Didn’t hit the ball well, didn’t hit my driver well.”
Playing 23-seed Tommy Tucker, House advanced 6&5 to finish off day one. Coming back on Saturday, House was quickly in the hole against Davidson University freshman,
Brian Garrett. Down four holes at the turn, House never thought he was out of the match.
Clawing his way back to all-square, House flared his drive well right on the 18th hole.
“I wasn’t too happy and hit my driver on the ground and the shaft ended up breaking,” House said.
After finding his ball with the search clock winding down, House gave himself an opportunity to make something happen after advancing the ball forward. With Garrett in with a par, House clutched up and sunk a 25-footer to extend the match into extra holes. Heading to No. 10 where House began his comeback, he won the match to advance.
In the quarterfinal match, House faced off against his Roadrunner teammate,
Hunter Bott, who gave him a new driver shaft before their afternoon match. Bott and House battled with birdies galore before House came away with a 2UP win.
In the semifinal match, House took on Seton Hall senior
Andres Acevedo. House advanced to the championship match with a 2&1 victory over the Pirates’ senior.
- Photo courtesy Adam House
In the championship match, House once again faced off against a UTSA teammate and roommate
Will Adams.
“We always are trying to get into each other’s heads, always talking crap to each other regardless of if we’re on a golf course or making dinner,” House joked. “So we both knew it was going to be a bloodfest out there with what was going to be said.”
Once again finding himself down early (4 down through seven), House knew he could battle back against his buddy.
Finally getting honors on the tee box, House took over on the eighth hole. With wins on eight and nine, the duo pushed holes 10-12 before Adams conceded the 13th to go 1UP with five to play. After a birdie to make it all-square through 15, the fun began for House.
“It was anyone’s ballgame at that point, with three to go,” House said.
Up one on 16, House missed a championship-clinching putt on 17 before chipping in on 18 for eagle with a walk-off win over Adams.
“It [this win] does a lot for my confidence. Over the last four months, since this corona stuff hit, it made me realize what I want to do with my life... I’ve really put my head down over the last four months,” said House. “It feels really good to see the results showing.”
Taking advantage of the NCAA granting another year of eligibility to spring athletes, House will attempt to qualify for the PGA LatinoAmerica and PGA Mackenzie Tours this winter before wrapping up his final season with the Roadrunners.
View results for San Antonio Match Play
ABOUT THE San Antonio Match Play
18 hole stroke play qualifier to determine a match
play bracket. Bracket size will be determined by
participation: 16-31 players
= 16 Seed Bracket, 32-52 Players = 32 Seed
Bracket. Depending on
participation, we may have a Men's Division and a
Senior Men's Division.
Open to any male with amateur status residing in
Bexar, Comal, Kendall, Kerr,
Wilson, Atascosa, Medina, Guadalupe, or Bandera
counties for a minimum of
three months prior to the Championship date. Active
Duty Military residents
are exempt from the three month residency
requirement.
View Complete Tournament Information