Marshall Meisel after a long, wet day (Rochester First)
Article courtesy of Monroe Invitational
Marshall Meisel chipped in from the right greenside rough on the sixth playoff hole to defeat Anthony Delisanti on a rainy Saturday at the 82nd Monroe Invitational.
Delisanti forced the playoff by notching birdies on the final two holes, including sinking a 40-foot putt on the 18th hole to sit as the leader in the clubhouse at 9 under with only Meisel’s group left on the course. Meisel, the 54-hole leader, parred the 72nd hole to set up the epic playoff.
University of Tennessee's Lance Simpson notched the low round of the day with a 64 to move to earn a tie for third place with Purdue's Peyton Snoeberger (Purdue) and LSU's Connor Gaunt at 7-under par
Kansas Jayhawk William Duquette took solo sixth place at 6-under par, while Michael Mays (Florida State) and Luke Haskew (LSU) were tied for seventh at 5 under. Gustav Frimodt (TCU) was ninth at 4-under after a 70 on Saturday.
Meisel, who was the only player in red figures in all four rounds (65-69-69-68) got off to a strong start on Saturday, moving to 10 under after nine holes with birdies on hole Nos. 2,7,9. His only bogey of the round came on the 15th hole.
Delasanti started the day at -6-under par but couldn't gain any momentum early in his round until he made a birdie at the par-3 13th. He stayed at 7 under until the 17th hole.
The Sanborn, NY native was well aware he needed to make a move to get into contention. Said Delisanti, “I knew what he (Meisel) was doing behind me.” “I saw he bogeyed 15 and made pars after that, so I knew I needed to birdie two of the last three. I gave myself a chance.”
The rising junior at Valpariso closed his round with two birdies to force the playoff.
The playoff began at the 18th hole and alternated to the 10th. The first four holes were tied with pars. Meisel needed to lean on his lag putts, as his birdie looks were well outside of Delisanti's.
“It was nerve-racking at the start,” Meisel said after hoisting the trophy. “I honestly didn’t think I was going to be in a playoff. I heard Anthony made a great putt to get into the playoff. It took me a few holes to settle in, but I made some nice putts on the first and second playoff holes.”
It wasn’t until the fifth playoff hole that the real drama unfolded as the rain poured sideways across the Donald Ross Course.
Delisanti put his drive beautifully into the fairway, while Meisel drove it into the left fairway bunker. Delisanti delivered a dart into the green to within five feet to put the pressure on Meisel’s sand shot.
Meisel answered the bell.
“He stuffed it on the fifth playoff hole and I kind of knew I needed to make something happen," Meisel said. "I probably hit the best shot of the tournament - a 7-iron from the fairway bunker to about 6 feet and made the putt.”
On the sixth and final playoff hole, Delisanti nestled his approach shot to within 30-feet, while Meisel was slightly in the greenside rough on the upslope. With one foot straight in the sand and the other bent on the hill, he chipped one high in the air towards the pin.
“I actually had a great feeling,” Meisel said. “On those shots you can kind of be aggressive with it because it’s gonna go high and not too far past the hole, and I had a good read on it. I hit it - I thought I hit it a little too hard - but it was on a great line and the second hop went right into the hole.”
It was on Delisanti to extend the match with his long birdie putt. It rolled past the cup, crowning Meisel the champion.
“Marshall played great,” said Delisanti. “I gave it everything I had. There’s nothing you can do about the chip in on the last.”
Delesanti will be playing in the US Amateur in August after earning a spot in the Sectional Qualifier at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, NY on July 11. It will be his first USGA event. He now has a second and sixth (2021) place finish to his credit at the Monroe Invitational.
For Meisel, it was a signature win to his resume
“This is definitely the biggest tournament I’ve ever won," Meisel said. "Just the way that I played all the week - the way I handled myself - I was really proud of that. Obviously, the playoff - the chip in to win it - was unbelievable.”
ABOUT THE The Monroe Invitational
The Monroe Invitational is held at Monroe Golf Club
in Pittsford, NY, and is one of the oldest amateur
tournaments in the United States, dating back to its
first playing in 1937. The course is a Donald Ross
design that is a Golfweek Top 100 Classic Course.
The tournament is a 72 hole stroke play event with a
54 hole cut. Invitations are sent out to exempt
players in early February, but the Tournament
Committee would encourage any interested players
to apply for a non-exempt invitation through the
tournament website.
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