Steve Ziegler may have started something with his performance last year in the U.S. Amateur.
A summer after the golfer from Broomfield made a run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Am before losing to the eventual champion in 21 holes, Colorado is represented in the 2010 Amateur field like it seldom has been in recent years.
When the tournament begins Monday (Aug. 23) at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., eight Coloradans will be among the 312 national and international competitors. In comparison, three from the state played in the 2009 U.S. Amateur, and five were in the field in 2008.
Moreover, four Coloradans earned medalist honors in 2010 Sectional Qualifying tournaments for the Amateur — Gunner Wiebe of Aurora (in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Wyndham Clark of Greenwood Village (in Aurora), Mark Hubbard of Denver (in Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Beau Schoolcraft of Englewood (in Colorado Springs).
Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs, one of the qualifiers, no doubt reflected the feelings of all the Coloradans when he said, “These (USGA) tournaments are just special to play in. “¦ There is not a tournament better except for the U.S. Open. For an amateur, it’s just fantastic.”
Ziegler (pictured), Harrington, Wiebe, Clark, Hubbard and Schoolcraft will be joined at Chambers Bay by Parker Edens of Greeley and Cody Kent of Castle Rock. The first step for them all will be two rounds of stroke play, after which the top 64 players will advance to match play.
Seven of the eight — everyone with the exception of the 38-year-old Harrington — are either college or high school players. Here’s a brief rundown:
Wyndham Clark, Greenwood Village — The 16-year-old will be competing in his first U.S. Amateur after being the co-medalist in qualifying at Saddle Rock Golf Course. The 2009 4A state high school champion from Valor Christian, who’s ranked among the top 20 junior players in the nation, recently won the CGA Stroke Play Championship.
Parker Edens, Greeley — The sophomore-to-be at South Dakota State will be competing in his first U.S. Amateur — and first USGA championship.
Michael Harrington, Colorado Springs — The financial advisor qualified for his second straight U.S. Amateur and fifth USGA championship. Harrington was the CGA’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year in 2009.
Mark Hubbard, Denver — The senior-to-be at San Jose State, named an All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America for the 2009-10 season, earned medalist honors by one stroke in Amateur qualifying in Santa Cruz, Calif. Hubbard swept the CGA Junior Stroke Play and Junior Match Play titles in 2007.
Cody Kent, Castle Rock — The University of Tulsa freshman-to-be will be going to his first U.S. Amateur. He recently finished fifth in the CGA Stroke Play Championship after placing second in the CGA Junior Stroke Play earlier this year.
Beau Schoolcraft, Englewood — The 20-year-old claimed medalist honors by seven strokes in qualifying at the Broadmoor, earning a spot in his first U.S. Amateur. The 2007 4A state high school champion is transferring to the University of Colorado after spending two seasons playing golf for UCLA.
Gunner Wiebe, Aurora — The University of San Diego senior-to-be earned medalist honors by seven strokes in a qualifier in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and will be playing in his second straight U.S. Amateur. This summer, Wiebe won the CGA Match Play Championship and finished second in the HealthOne Colorado Open.
Steve Ziegler, Broomfield — The Stanford senior-to-be was exempt from qualifying for the Amateur by virtue of being a quarterfinalist last year. In that round, he lost on the third extra hole when Byeong-Hun An of Korea carded a par to Ziegler’s bogey. Earlier in 2009, Ziegler swept the CGA Match Play and Stroke Play titles.
