DURHAM– A victory of Luke Sample at the Ike Championship at the famed Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey and a second place finish by Kelly Chinn at the Sunnehanna Amateur kicked off the summer with a bang for male golfers at Duke.
Luke Sample Win the Ike Championship
A birdie in the iconic 18th at Baltusrol gave Sample a two-stroke victory in Game 67 of the Ike Metropolitan Golf Association Stroke Play Championship on June 27-28. The rising sophomore, now a two-time MGA champion, dueled Essex County’s Thomas McCarthy over the final 18 holes.
“It’s amazing,” said Sample, 19. “To be honest, it’s been a long time since I went down 18 or stood on 18 with a shot that really felt like it meant something. Being able to perform under pressure and get the job done on the stretch really meant a plot.”
Sample, the 2020 Met Open champion, was level with McCarthy on the 17th hole but tied McCarthy’s bogey to take a lead he would only build on the 18th. New York native Sample opened with a 69 in the first round, followed with a 72 and closed with a 69 in the last round for a winning score of 3 under 210.
Luke Sample picked up his second MGA Major victory and his fourth overall MGA victory with a solid win at the 67th Ike MGA Stroke Play Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club!
Full recap: https://t.co/AlKgU7sM0S pic.twitter.com/36FDLPEenQ
— Metropolitan Golf Association (@MGA1897) June 29, 2022
Chinn pursues Duke’s Sunnehanna success
Chinn, last year’s Rolex Junior Golfer of the Year and a sophomore at Duke, finished second in the Sunnehanna Amateur in mid-June at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
This is the second year in a row that a Blue Devil has been a finalist after Ian Sibers finished a stroke in 2021. Duke is three years away from boasting two straight wins Alex Smalley in 2018 and 2019 – the first repeat winner of the tournament since Rickie Fowler in 2006 and 2007.
Chinn was also one shot behind the winner, Bryce Lewis, and tied for second with Maxwell Ford. The trio were tied for the lead going into the 72nd hole and the final championship hole tied at 5 under, but bogeys from Chinn and Ford allowed Lewis to make the difference.
Chinn was near the top of the leaderboard from the start, opening with rounds of 67 and 68 to sit at 5-under through 36 holes. He posted a 71 in the third round and finished with an even 70.
Also competing the following week at the Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rhode Island, Chinn finished tied for eighth at 4 under with scores of 66, 66, 70 and 70. At the North-South Amateur at Pinehurst Resort, Chinn posted a 75 on the No. 4 and an impressive 68 on the No. 2, but fell three strokes short of advancing to match play.
Three other Blue Devils were in Sunnehanna’s field, as a rising junior jimmy zen finished tied for 23rd at 3 of 283 (74, 67, 71, 71. Siebers (75, 70, 74) and Sample (74-73-73) were cut ahead of the final round.
Siebers reaches match play at North-South Amateur in Pinehurst
Young rising Ian Sibers was among the last 16 players remaining at the North-South Amateur, played in late June at Pinehurst Resort. The Bellevue, Wash., native finished tied for 13th in both rounds of stroke play, with an impressive 65 on No. 4 Pinehurst and a 73 the next day on No. 2 to earn a match play berth.
Siebers survived a grueling 21-hole first-round match, beating 19th-seeded Jonathan Griz in 21 holes. The Blue Devil was ousted in another bitter game, losing to Ohio State’s Maxwell Moldovan.
Peters reaches fourth round of match play at Philadelphia Amateur Championship
Second year up John Peters tied for the top of the standings after two rounds of stroke play and reached the fourth round of match play at the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship at Philadelphia Country Club in mid-June.
The Carlisle, Pa., native was 6-under 137 over 36 holes in stroke play and tied with Troy Vannucci for the top spot heading into match play. Peters picked up a dominating 7&6 win over Will Holt in his opener but was ousted by 2up Dawson Anders in the next round.
#GoDuke
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