Through the first 19 holes of the event, he was 9 over par and looked like he was heading home after the two rounds of stroke play in his third U.S. Senior Am.

But three straight birdies and two more late in the round led to a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday, getting him into the top 64 that made match play.

Sullivan, the 2018 CGA Western Chapter senior champion, parlayed that into victories in the round of 64 (1 up) and the round of 32 (3 and 2). But he met up with co-medalist Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, Calif., in Tuesday afternoon’s round of 16, and Sullivan’s run came to an end, 2 and 1. (Thursday update: Wilson went on to win the Senior Am title.)

Wilson, the low amateur in this summer’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, trailed early but led throughout the back nine. After the match was all square through eight holes, he won the ninth and 12th with pars to go 2 up. Sullivan won the 13th with a birdie and the 16th with a par, with Wilson prevailing on No. 14 with a birdie. That left Sullivan 1 down through 16. But Wilson closed out the match with a birdie on 17 while Sullivan made a bogey.

Sullivan finished 3 over par for the 17 holes of the match, while Wilson was 2 over.

In the morning round of 32, Sullivan defeated Jeff New of Scottdale, Ariz., 3 and 2.

Sullivan, who started off with a birdie, never trailed in the match. After being 1 up through 10, he won 11 and 12 with pars and parred out for the victory. He was 3 over par for the 16 holes.

Also in the round of 32, stroke-play co-medalist Greg Condon of the southern Colorado town of Monte Vista was upset 2 and 1 by 33rd-seeded Buzz Fly of Memphis, Tenn.

Condon, competing in this national championship for the second time, never led in the match, though he squared it up with a winning par on 9. But Fly, a former PGA Tour player who advanced to the semifinals of this event in 2013, won Nos. 11 and 13 with pars to go 2 up and the players halved the next four holes to close things out.

Condon, who made the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur Public Links six years ago, finished 1 over par for the 17 holes.

Here were the results for the Coloradans competing this week in the U.S. Senior Amateur:

TUESDAY’S MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 16
Jeff Wilson, Fairfield, Calif., def. Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction, 2 and 1

TUESDAY’S MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 32
Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn., def. Greg Condon, Monte Vista, 2 and 1
Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction, def. Jeff New, Scottsdale, Ariz., 3 and 2

MONDAY’S MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 64
Greg Condon, Monte Vista, def. Kirk Wright, Oklahoma City, 4 and 3
Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction, def. Louis Brown, Marietta, Ga., 1 up

STROKE PLAY
Advance to Match Play
T1. Greg Condon, Monte Vista 67-72–139
41. Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction 80-71–151
Failed to Advance to Match Play
93. Guy Mertz, Longmont 80-76–156

For all the results from the championship, CLICK HERE.
 

Greg Condon of Monte Vista in southern Colorado shared stroke-play medalist honors Sunday in the U.S. Senior Amateur, while Scott Sullivan of Grand Junction shot a 1-under-par 71 in round 2 to join Condon in advancing to match play in Eugene, Ore.

The top 64 players in stroke play over the weekend earned spots in match play, which starts on Monday.

Condon, 56, who made the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur Public Links six years ago, posted rounds of 67-72 for a 5-under-par 139 total. That tied for low in stroke play at Eugene Country Club with Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, Calif. But that’s not necessarily a good omen as the medalist hasn’t won the U.S. Senior Amateur since 1987, according to the USGA.

Condon (left in a USGA photo, and below), who’s competing in his second U.S. Senior Am, made two birdies and two bogeys in Sunday’s second round.

Meanwhile, Sullivan was in 116th place after shooting 80 on Saturday. His second-round 71, giving him a 7-over 151 total, vaulted him up to 41st place. Sullivan chalked up five birdies to go with four bogeys on day 2.

Guy Mertz of Longmont also played better on Sunday, but it wasn’t good enough to make match play. In his second straight Senior Am, he went 80-76 for a 156 total, good for 93rd place.

Here are the scores by the Coloradans competing this week in the U.S. Senior Amateur:

ADVANCE TO MATCH PLAY
T1. Greg Condon, Monte Vista 67-72–139
41. Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction 80-71–151
FAILED TO ADVANCE TO MATCH PLAY
93. Guy Mertz, Longmont 80-76–156

For all the results from the championship, CLICK HERE.
 

At 3 over par through 13 holes on Tuesday at Omni Interlocken Golf Club in Broomfield, Guy Mertz wasn’t feeling good about qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur for a second straight year.

But it’s amazing what three birdies in his final five holes — and another on the first hole of a playoff — will do to change your outlook.

Mertz played his final six holes of the day, including the playoff, in 4 under par — and the final three in 3 under — to punch his ticket to the U.S. Senior Am again.

“I’m in shock,” he said of his late comeback. “It was totally unexpected. … I just wasn’t feeling it. I was just a little off. But I did it. It’s unbelievable to me. I stuck with it long enough, I guess. I’m really happy. I guess it proves last year wasn’t a fluke. Two years in a row; it can’t be a fluke, can it? Maybe I’m decent.”

The 59-year-old from Longmont joined Don Eklund of San Diego and Scott Sullivan of Grand Junction in booking return trips to the national championship for amateurs 55 and older.

This year’s U.S. Senior Am will be contested Aug. 25-30 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

Eklund, a 61-year-old who used to live in the Vail area, shot a 3-under-par 69 to land medalist honors — and his second trip to the U.S. Senior Amateur. Sullivan earned his third berth in the event thanks to a 71 and despite playing his final three holes in 2 over par. And Mertz, as noted, rallied to qualify through a playoff. (Eklund and Sullivan are pictured above, with the medalist at left.)

Mertz and two other contestants who have likewise previously competed in the U.S. Senior Am — CGA Executive Committee members Kent Moore of Centennial and Gary Albrecht of Denver — posted 72s on Tuesday, then played off for the final spot in the national championship.

Moore and Albrecht hit ideal drives in the playoff, with Albrecht putting his second shot on the par-5 on the green, 60 feet short of the flag, and Moore leaving his second in a greenside bunker. Mertz pushed his tee shot into the rough and had a semi-blind second shot over a knoll, and he hit a 3-wood to 40 yards shot of the hole.

After a mediocre pitch, Mertz (left) drained a 20-foot birdie putt. Albrecht ended up three-putting for par from 60 feet. And Moore, after a good bunker shot to 7 feet, missed his birdie try, leaving Mertz to advance to his sixth USGA championship. He’s previously gone to the now-defunct U.S. Amateur Public Links three times, the 1990 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, and last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur in Minnesota, where he grew up.

“I didn’t hit a very good pitch, but I hit a really good putt (in the playoff),” said Mertz, the reigning CGA Parent/Child champion with son Nick. “I’d rather have a bad pitch and a good putt than a great pitch and a bad putt.”

After Mertz secured the final qualifying spot on Tuesday, Moore subsequently made a par on the same hole to earn the first alternate position as Albrecht made bogey.

Earlier, Eklund had holed a 100-yard wedge shot for eagle on the eighth hole en route to his 69. He added two birdies and one bogey during a day in which he hit 16 greens in regulation.

“I didn’t see (the wedge shot) go in,” said Eklund, the 2017 San Diego City Senior Amateur champion. “But it never left the flag. I have hole-outs probably two or three times a year, especially with my wedge. I consider myself a very good wedge player.”

As for returning to the U.S. Senior Am after a five-year absence, Eklund said, “It’s going to be a lot better, I can tell you that. I’ve been wanting to go back for six years. The USGA puts on great events. It’s such a treasure to go to one of them. I hear good things about Eugene Country Club and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The same is true for the 60-year-old Sullivan, who recently won the senior division of the CGA Western Chapter Championship. On Tuesday, he carded four birdies and three bogeys in his round of 71. Sullivan previously played in the 2013 and ’15 U.S. Senior Amateurs and the 2010 U.S. Senior Open.

“It will be great” competing in another USGA championship, said Sullivan, who’s won multiple low-amateur/low-senior amateur titles in the Rocky Mountain Open. “I’ve heard great things about Eugene Country Club too. The USGA events are the important ones (on his golf schedule). That’s what I point to. They’re great. Especially at the Senior Open, they treat you like a king. But I just enjoy competition.”

As for Mertz, he’s aiming to make match play at this year’s U.S. Senior Am after falling short last year in Minnesota, where he lived the first 26 years of his life.

“Hopefully when I get there (to Eugene) I won’t be quite as nervous because last year I had a lot of people in Minnesota rooting me on,” he said. “I put more pressure on myself, which is never good.”

U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 Omni Interlocken GC in Broomfield

ADVANCE TO U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR
Don Eklund, San Diego 34-35–69
Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction 35-36–71
Guy Mertz, Longmont 39-33–72
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Kent Moore, Centennial 36-36–72
Gary Albrecht, Denver 38-34–72

For all the scores from Tuesday, CLICK HERE.

Fifty-five players will be in the field, with the top three finishers earning spots in the Senior Am, which will be contested Aug. 25-30 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

Of those 55, almost one-fifth have competed in the U.S. Senior Am just in the last five years.

The list includes Wyoming resident John Hornbeck, the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play champion who has played in three U.S. Senior Amateurs, going to the quarterfinals in 2016. Also, there’s three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk (round of 64 in 2017), Guy Mertz (2017), Robin Bradbury (round of 64 in 2016), Gary Albrecht (2016), Jim Reynolds (2016), Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2015), Thomas Roos (2015), and David Delich and Harry Johnson (both 2013 and ’14).

Also competing on Tuesday are Steve Ivan, winner of the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur and runner-up in the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play; Charlie Post, who played in the 2017 U.S. Senior Open; 2015 CGA Senior Amateur winner Bill Fowler; 2014 CGA Senior Match Play champ Tom Musselman and Sean Forey.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

The two-time CWGA Player of the Year shot a 1-over-par 73 in round 2 at Eugene Country Club, dropping her into a tie for 10th place at 2-under-par 142. She trails leader Dewi Weber of Miami by seven strokes.

Kupcho, a Wake Forest freshman who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open on Monday, made four birdies and five bogeys in Saturday’s round.

Sitting at No. 43 in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, Kupcho is seeking her fourth consecutive top-10 finish in college golf.

Kupcho will play at least three rounds, but if she finishes 54 holes among the top nine individuals not on one of the top 15 teams that make the cut, she’ll play a fourth and final round on Monday. That’s when the individual champion will be determined.

For all the scores from the Women’s DI Finals, CLICK HERE.