THE FLATS – Looking to complete a strong finish to an already successful summer on the amateur circuit, Georgia Tech’s Bartley Forrester, Christo Lamprecht and Ross Steelman begin competition Monday at the 122nd United States Amateur Championship at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.
The Yellow Jacket threesome looks to return the Havemeyer Trophy, given to the champion, to the Tech campus after Andy Ogletree and Tyler Strafaci won the title back-to-back in 2019 and 2020. Matt Kuchar won the championship in 1997, and Bobby Jones was crowned five times between 1924 and 1930.
The championship begins with 36 holes of stroke play Monday and Tuesday at Ridgewood Country Club and Arcola Country Club in Paramus, with each of the 312 players playing one round on each course. The top 64 finishers, with ties resolved in a playoff if necessary, begin match-play competition Wednesday, culminating in a 36-hole championship match Sunday. All matches will be played at Ridgewood.
A co-medalist at the U.S. Amateur final qualifier at the Standard Club in Johns Creek, Ga., in late June, Forrester is in the field for the second straight year. Ranked No. 75 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the Gainesville, Ga., senior has won the Monroe Invitational and tied for sixth place in the Southern Amateur in his last two starts.
Lamprecht, ranked No. 42 in the WAGR, is in the field for the first time, earning his spot last Monday based on his top-50 position. The George, South Africa junior led the International team to victory in the Arnold Palmer Cup and tied for ninth place at the European Amateur Championship earlier this summer.
Steelman, ranked No. 25 in the WAGR, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont, Pa., earning a return trip this year. The Columbia, Mo., senior was the 72-hole stroke-play medalist and won his first-round match at last week’s Western Amateur, and also was the stroke-play runner-up and won his first-round match at the North & South Amateur in early July.
Ridgewood Country Club will measure 7,487 yards and play to a par of 71 for the championship, while Arcola Country Club is a par-70 layout measuring 7,256 yards. A total of 7,749 players entered the championship, all but 63 qualifying at 94 different sites to fill out the 312-player field. James Piot of Canton, Mich., was the 2021 champion.
The U.S. Amateur brings to a conclusion what has been a successful amateur season for Georgia Tech golfers. Aside from Forrester’s victory at the Monroe Invitational, senior Andy Mao won the Southeastern Amateur in late July and junior Aidan Kramer won the Rice Planters Invitational in June. Senior Connor Howe won the Patriot All-America Invitational in December.