With the field whittled down to 16, golfers were then matched up in 1v1 matches, competing to win each hole rather than for the best score overall, and the golfer that won the most holes would win the match and move to the next round.
Danny Klughart shot a 69 in the qualifying round to enter match play as the fourth seed, and he’d win his first-round matchup against 13th seed Rylan Isaac by the 13th hole, and then he’d beat 12th seed Marty Ring in the second round on the 16th hole. On day three during the semifinal, Klughart would defeat eighth seed Chris Reid by winning the last two holes.
Cory Selander entered as the third seed with a 68 score through the qualifying round. In his first-round matchup, Selander defeated 14th seed Davis Yuzdepski after 13 holes, and he’d follow it up by defeating sixth seed Andy Zaba after 17. In his semifinal match, Selander was tied with 10th seed Kyle Schneider after 12, but Selander would win the next three holes in a row and tie the 16th, meaning Schneider couldn’t catch up and Selander advanced.
Carts lined up all around the tee box and the green as Selander and Klughart teed off against each other in the championship flight, and a birdie on the par 4 hole nine would give Selander a one-hole lead after the front nine. Klughart would win holes 10 and 11 to take a one-hole lead, but on hole 12 Selander had his best stretch.
On the 160 yard par 3 hole 12, Klughart lost his tee-shot in the water, and Selander landed his shot on the green. Selander would chip his second shot on to the green and putt his third shot in for par, while Klughart double bogeyed, and suddenly Selander could feel the door open.
“He’s (Klughart) such a good player, he doesn’t make very many mistakes. So when he does make one, you definitely have to lock in and execute, and I didn’t hit my best shot, but I did enough to get the job done there. Then from there I kind of put the pedal down and made a few birdies and didn’t look back.”
Selander hit three birdies in a row after that to take a three-hole lead with only three holes left, meaning Selander just had to tie one of the three final holes of the tournament to win it.
“I was feeling really good there for a while. All weekend on the back seven, I’d made quite a few birdies, so I was kind of waiting to get there because I knew I would have my chance, and I was fortunate that I was able to capitalize on those holes.”
However, on the 310 par 4 on hole 16 Klughart drove his tee-shot over the green and into the rough, while Selander hit his just shy of the green. Klughart made a nice chip on his second shot and sank his putt for a birdie, and Selander would miss his birdie attempt.
On to the 179 yard par 3 on hole 17, and again Klughart would send his ball just over the green, but this time with a much better look at the hole. He’d send his chip down hill, and tap it in for par. Selander was short of the green again, but hitting his chip uphill. His putt would just lip out however, and suddenly Selander’s three hole lead was a one hole lead.
“That’s why it’s one of the hardest tournaments in the province to win, because the last three holes in this golf course can go either way, especially against a player like Danny. You never know what can happen. You can never count your chickens before they hatch, so I was fortunate that I got it done on 18, but I wasn’t surprised necessarily that it took to 18 either.”
Selander just needed a tie on 18 to win it, while Klughart needed to win the hole to force a playoff hole. On the 425 yard par 4, both men hit their drives about 100 yards out from the green. Both men hit solid approach shots with Klughart landing with a tough lie to the left of the green, and Selander landing on the left side with a closer, smoother look at the hole.
Klughart made an excellent putt from off the green to get his ball close, but Selander made a nice chip to put his ball in the same range. With each man within six feet for their par putts, they instead picked up their balls and shook hands, tying the hole and earning Selander his fourth Men’s Northern Amateur Championship.
“He’s one of the best putters in the province. I had no doubt that I was going to be telling his next one’s good, probably so I knew I had to ex you on my shot. I hit a good chip and it was close enough for him to give it to me.”
Not only did the tournament see it’s smallest cut off after the qualifying round at just 72, one shot over par, the tournament also saw a course record. During the qualifying round of the tournament, Denver Grolla hit a 63, eight shots under par.
The next closest qualifying round was a 67 shot by Jeff Whitfield.
