By Marc Hardin
NKyTribune contributor
Among the many highlights for golfer Austin Squires during his stunning top-eight finish at last week’s 118th U.S. Amateur Championship in Pebble Beach, California, was a surreal exchange between Squires and the caddie for quarterfinal opponent Luis Gagne, the 45th-ranked amateur in the world from Costa Rica.
Squires, a former Ryle High School standout now playing at the University of Cincinnati, had just beaten Gagne in a 19-hole Round of 32 match-play upset, setting the stage for an equally dramatic final-hole 1-up quarterfinal win against Andrew Alligood of St. Johns, Florida.
“After the match against Gagne, his caddie told me that I was the best putter he’d ever seen,” said Squires, a Triple Crown Country Club member. “A couple of months ago, it would have been different. It was a great week and my putting saved me for sure.”
A couple of months ago, Squires’ putting was a work in progress after a club switch. He underwent a change in both mechanics and approach following a disappointing junior year for the Bearcats. By the looks of things on Spyglass Hill and famed Pebble Beach, the rising UC senior is on the other side of the transition and trending up sharply.
Austin Squires (right) hits a shot on the 10th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California at last week’s U.S. Amateur Championship. Squires made it to the quarterfinals of match play. At the left is caddie Paul Clancy. (Photo provided by Austin Squires)
Hovland, a junior All-American at Oklahoma State, is fifth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He won seven of the first eight holes against Squires, who couldn’t overcome the deep deficit. Two days later, Hovland defeated UCLA’s Devon Bling of Ridgecrest, California, in the 36-hole final. Hovland played just 102 holes, tying the U.S. Amateur record. Though Squires wanted to come out on top, losing to such a dominant winner at the nation’s top amateur tournament was no great shame.
“I thought my play was a testimony to how much work I put in on my putting this summer,” Squires said. “Just a couple months ago, I was working on everything. I think the biggest thing for me has been my mentality surrounding my putting.”
Squires’ finish is the best by a Bearcat at the U.S. Amateur. For that, he credits patience, persistence, UC head golf coach Doug Martin and assistant Austin Frick. In an effort to recapture the magic that made him the 2017 American Athletic Conference player of the year and an All-American as a sophomore, Squires was willing to reconstruct his game. He said Martin was instrumental in helping him make adjustments to his short game. Frick gave him helpful advice regarding some mental aspects.
“Our new assistant Austin Frick gave me a thought back in June,” Squires recalled. “He told me to remember what I was doing while I was putting. That way I can recreate the moment when I’m putting well.”
Squires earned U.S. Amateur match play for the first time by tying for 10th place at 1-over-par 142 in the 312-player, two-round, stroke-play qualifier. The top 64 advanced. He won his first match 5 & 4 win against Max Theodorakis of Danbury, Connecticut. Squires had seven birdies and 21 pars in 37 holes on the second day of match play while putting away Gagne and Alligood. That was in stark contrast to last year when Squires fell short of qualifying with a tie for 250th place in his first appearance at the 2017 U.S. Amateur qualifying rounds in Los Angeles.
It’s been quite a summer for Squires, the 2013 Northern Kentucky Amateur champion. He was sixth at the Northeast Amateur Invitational in Rhode Island. He was qualifying medalist for the second time and runner-up at Cincinnati’s Tony Blom Metropolitan Amateur Championship. Next up is the UC season opener Sept. 8-9 at Duke University’s Rod Myers Invitational in Durham, North Carolina. His first day of classes is Monday.
Around the links in Northern Kentucky:
A.J. JOLLY: The team of Gary Koch and Ken Armstrong remain the leaders atop the Campbell County Senior Golf League standings with a record of 33.5-8.5. Bill Byrne and Bob Slider are in second place at 28-14. Tied for third at 26.5-15.5 are the duos of Dan Fehler and Bob Mason, and Ron Sander and Sonny Slawter.
DEVOU PARK: Night golf debuts at the course 9 p.m. Friday. There will be light displays throughout the course, lit greens and light-up golf balls will be used. Play will be in groups of two with a shotgun start. Contact the Devou Park pro shop for more details.
PENDLETON: Lisa Houchen won the ladies club championship.
KENTUCKY PGA JUNIOR TOUR: Burlington’s Reagan Ramage won the girls’ 12-under competition at Fall 9-Hole Series Event 7 at Cherry Blossom Golf Club in Georgetown with a score of 8-over 44. Union’s Lucca Brown was third in boys’ 10-under at 11-over 47.
Brown took first by one stroke in the boys’ 10-under division at Fall 9-Hole Series Event 8 at Thoroughbred Golf Club in Nicholasville with 6-over 42
GCGA 1905 JUNIOR TOUR: Conner High School junior Ian Petersime won the season-long boys’ 18-under points race with 635, good for a 45-point cushion over the runner-up. In six events, Petersime never placed outside the top 10 while putting together finishes of first, second, third, fifth, sixth and ninth. He won the 36-hole Bel Fields Challenge, a stroke-play event at Bel-Wood and Avon Fields.
Mason Butler, a sophomore at St. Henry, was the next-best Northern Kentucky finisher in boys’ 18-under with 510 points. He finished eighth. Covington Catholic’s Ben Sweeten was 12th with 420 points. Highlands’ Luke Muller finished fourth in boys’ 15-under with 915 points.
Villa Madonna’s Jenna Doumont placed second in the girls’ 18-under points race with 1,130, 20 off the championship-winning pace. Eva Maley from Kenton County was fourth in girls’ 12-under with 1,010 points.
NKWGA: Final Northern Kentucky Women’s Golf Association Team Play standings: 1. Kenton County 427, 2. Northern Kentucky Golf Club 417, 3. Fort Mitchell 394.5, 4. Twin Oaks 385, 5. Twin Bridges 383, 6. Summit Hills 370.5, 7. Boone Links 355, 8. Devou 348, 9. Eagle Creek 343.5, 10. A. J. Jolly 339.
The NKWGA’s fall meeting is 9 a.m. Sept. 24 at Kenton County. All are welcome.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY FOUR-BALL: The 17th Northern Kentucky Four-Ball Championship benefiting OneStrokeForward.org is Monday and Tuesday at Lassing Pointe Golf Club with 9 a.m. tee times both days. The first-day format is 18-hole, four-ball stroke play with an 18-hole scramble the second day. The field will be divided into championship and senior divisions. Prizes will be awarded for both gross and net in each division. In the event of a tie, there will be a sudden-death playoff to determine a sole winner.
A total of $50 of the $350 per-team cost to play goes to OneStrokeForward.org. One Stroke Forward Foundation was co-founded by stroke survivor Kelly Marsh, who suffered a stroke in 2009 at the age of 36. Along with her husband and caregiver Brad Marsh, she started the foundation to support young stroke survivors and help maximize their rehabilitation by assisting with costs and expenses associated with recovery. Through educational outreach, the foundation aims to create awareness regarding strokes, particularly among younger people in the community.
Marc Hardin’s summer golf column has been featured in The Kentucky Post and Kentucky Enquirer for 15 years. He’s covered all the local amateur tournaments and several PGA and LPGA events since 2003. His feature for The Cincinnati Post about how Chi Chi Rodriguez got on the album cover of a Devo record was PGA Story Of The Day from the 2004 Kroger Classic at The Golf Center at Kings Island. Marc has written for the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association and Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association. He welcomes comments, story tips, feature ideas and your league’s standings. You can contact him at marcwriterdude@yahoo.com.
