Middle Atlantic Amateur: Bennett Espenshade hangs on for the win

October 7, 2023 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Bennett Espenshade (Calvert School Photo)

Espenshade struggled in the final round but played well enough through the first 36 holes to grab the victory.

He didn't make it easy on himself, but at the end of the day, Bennett Espenshade of Baltimore, Md., came out on top of the Middle Atlantic Amateur Championship at River Bend Club in Great Falls, Va.

Espenshade shot 4-under to win by one shot over Benton Weinberg of Bethesda, Md. Weinberg shot a 3-under total to finish in solo second place.

Espenshade shot a 3-over 73 in the final round with five bogeys, but a first-round 3-under 67 and a second-round 4-under 66 helped keep him at the top of the leaderboard even with some struggles in the final round.

Overall, Espenshade recorded 11 birdies, an eagle, and nine bogeys.

Weinberg was incredibly consistent, shooting three straight rounds of 1-under 69 to finish 3-under and as the only golfer to shoot all three rounds under par.

However, he was not able to chase down Espenshade after starting the final round five shots behind him.

Jack Hartman of Bethesda, Md., and Lorenzo Sanz of Glen Arm, Md., finished T3 at 2-under and Justin Young of Salem, Va., and Finn Burkholder of The Woodlands, Tex., finished T5 at even par.

Results: Middle Atlantic Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Bennett Espenshade	Baltimore, MD	300	67-66-73=206
2	Benton Weinberg	Potomac, MD	200	69-69-69=207
T3	Jack Hartman	Bethesda, MD	100	69-69-70=208
T3	Lorenzo Sanz	Glen Arm, MD	100	72-65-71=208
T5	Justin Young	Salem, VA	100	72-70-68=210

View full results for Middle Atlantic Amateur

About the Middle Atlantic Amateur

Middle Atlantic Amateur: Bennett Espenshade hangs on for the win

54-hole stroke play championship. The field is cut to the low 60 scores and ties after round two. Open to members of member clubs of the Middle Atlantic Golf Association, and by invitation.