Steve Ziegler has won two state high school golf championships and he claimed his first college tournament victory earlier this year, but there’s something missing from his amateur trophy case.
A Colorado Golf Association title.
Tom Gempel (pictured) hasn’t enjoyed near the success that Ziegler has, but he too has his eyes on his first CGA championship.
The two will square off in Friday’s 36-hole final of the CGA Match Play, and one will have his name engraved alongside those of Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Brandt Jobe and Kevin Stadler on the Richard C. Campbell Trophy.
“I’ve always held these (CGA) tournaments in the highest regards,” Ziegler said after winning two matches Thursday at Bear Creek Golf Club. “It would mean a great deal to me to win. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I’d be honored if it did happen.”
Gempel was part of a stellar senior class on the University of Colorado golf team last season, joining Derek Tolan and Pat Grady, both former CGA Players of the Year. Gempel’s golf resume pales in comparison, but adding a CGA Match Play title would certainly put a different complexion on things.
“This is where I always felt I should be — competing at the top level of amateur golf,” Gempel said. “But sometimes it seemed like I couldn’t get out of my own way.”
Ziegler and Gempel earned spots in Friday’s final in decidedly different ways. Ziegler, a Stanford junior-to-be who plays out of The Ranch Country Club, hasn’t won a match this week by less than a 4-and-3 margin. He claimed an 8-and-7 victory over Hal Marshall in Thursday’s quarterfinals, then dispatched Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous 5 and 3 in the semis.
While Ziegler needed just 26 holes Thursday to move on, Gempel required 18 more. The 22-year-old from the Pinery Country Club overcame Bryan Kruse in 20 holes in the quarterfinals, then took 24 holes to defeat a second Mines semifinalist, Joe Schwark.
Gempel extended the semifinal match with a 3-foot birdie to win the 18th hole and a 15-foot par to halve the 21st hole. But then he failed to close it out when he missed two putts under 5 feet on the next two holes. However, a solid two-putt par from 40 feet on the 24th hole ended the marathon. After making just one bogey in his first 21 holes, Schwark ended the match with three straight bogeys.
Forty-four holes “is probably the most I’ve ever played in a day,” said Gempel, the runner-up in the 2002 5A state high school championships. In the semis, “I kept repeating to myself, “˜You can do it.’ I couldn’t feel like I was beaten. It was pretty gnarly, but also fun. I don’t think I could have done it without my dad (and caddie, David) helping me read the greens because I was pretty delirious at the end.”
Gempel fully realizes that he will have his work cut out on Friday. After all, Ziegler was the only Coloradan to compete in the prestigious Palmer Cup — a college variation of the Ryder Cup — and later last month he advanced to the round of 16 at the British Amateur.
Gempel and Ziegler were paired together during U.S. Amateur qualifying last year, and Gempel said he “got beaten like a drum.”
“He’s a great player,” Gempel said of Ziegler. “I’m going to have to bring the goods.”
Ziegler, who hasn’t played competitively since the British Amateur, looks sharp as ever. The fact that he’s 18 under par for five matches says as much.
“It feels real good” to make it to the finals, the 20-year-old said. “I’m pumped, real excited.
“I’ve played solid, not great, this week. But I want that special round, and I think I’m close. It’s just a matter of time.”
Quarterfinals
Steve Ziegler, The Ranch CC def. Hal Marshall, Bear Creek GC 8 and 7
Jim Knous, Ironbridge GC Riley Andrews, Links GC 5 and 4
Tom Gempel, Pinery CC def. Bryan Kruse, Heritage at Westmoor 20 holes
Joseph Schwark, Broadlands GC def. Derek Fribbs, Plum Creek G & CC 2 and 1
Semifinals
Steve Ziegler, The Ranch CC def. Jim Knous, Ironbridge GC 5 and 3
Tom Gempel, Pinery CC def. Joseph Schwark, Broadlands GC 24 holes
Friday’s 36-hole Final
Ziegler vs. Gempel, 7 a.m.
