Jamie Miller of Silver Creek shot a 2-under 70 to qualify for the 43rd U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at the recent NYSGA qualifier held at Crag Burn Golf Club.
Photo courtesy of NYSGA
WILLIAMSVILLE — Jocelyn Wintersteen continued her strong summer of junior golf this past weekend at Park Country Club.
Wintersteen, playing out of Cassadaga Country Club, shot the low round of the championship with a 3-over 74 to vault up the leaderboard and finish as runnerup to eClub of Western NY’s Annika Michel for the Buffalo District Golf Association women’s title.
Michel made key birdies on the 15th and 18th holes of her final round to earn the three-stroke victory for her second straight title.
Nolan Piazza of Cherry Hill Club claimed the 101st individual championship late Saturday. The Morehead State standout fired a three-day total of 11-under 202 to win by three strokes over Ryan Edholm of Pendleton Creek GC.
Piazza sat one shot back of first-round medalist and fellow Cherry Hill member Hanish Nagrani after 18 holes of play. With his second-round 3-under 68, Piazza gained a two-stroke lead going into the final day that we would never relinquish. A two-hour thunderstorm delay Saturday did not derail his final-round 3-under 68, and Piazza sank his par putt on the 18th hole to secure his championship just as the sun went down.
Andy Bernatovicz of River Oaks GC earned the low senior honor, awarded to the lowest scoring senior after two rounds of play. Bernatovicz’s 36-hole total of 7-over 149 narrowly edged out Marc Scherrer of Park CC (+8).
Playing on the Western New York PGA’s Junior Tour, Wintersteen sits in third place in the 13-15 division this summer with 240 points in five events.
Lockport’s Natalie Wasik leads the way with 500 points and Charlotte Occhino of Orchard Park is second with 255, but both have played in more events than Wintersteen. Wasik has played in nine events and Occhino has played in six.
Heading into her sophomore year at Cassadaga Valley Central School, Wintersteen has four first-place finishes and a second this summer.
At Midvale Country Club on April 20, Wintersteen finished first with an 87. She followed that up a week later with another first-place finish, shooting an 85 at Orchard Park Country Club.
On May 18, Wintersteen shot an 88 to finish second at Willowbrook Golf Course.
At Wild Wood Country Club on June 23, Wintersteen added another first-place showing with an 85.
Finally, at Chautauqua Golf Club on July 28, Wintersteen led the field with a 79.
MILLER QUALIFIES FOR MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
EAST AURORA — The New York State Golf Association conducted a sectional qualifier recently at Crag Burn Golf Club for the 43rd U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
Multiple weather delays forced play to carry over into a second day in order for each competitor to complete 18 holes.
Two New Yorkers and a Canadian grabbed qualifying spots and will head to Kinloch Golf Club outside Richmond, Virginia, in late September.
Jamie Miller of Silver Creek fired a 2-under 70 to earn qualifying medalist at his home club. Miller turned in four birdies despite the challenging weather conditions to qualify for his sixth U.S. Mid-Am and 14th USGA championship appearance. At the state level, Miller has won two New York State Mid-Amateurs (2014, 2018) and also took home the 2017 Men’s Four-Ball with Billy Hanes and then 2022 Mixed-Team with Chelsea Dantonio.
Rochester’s Shane Dobesh carded a 1-under 71 to grab the second qualifying spot. Dobesh made only one bogey and rolled in a crucial birdie on the par-3 17th hole to move to solo second and avoid a playoff. Dobesh represented New York state alongside four-time state champion Yaroslav Merkulov at the U.S. Men’s Four-Ball at Chambers Bay in 2021.
The final qualifying spot was decided in a two-man playoff between Canadians Brett Walker and Simon McInnis, who each finished at even par.
Walker chipped in for birdie to punch his ticket to Kinloch on the first playoff hole, No. 10. Walker was 3-over through his first five holes, but managed to turn his day around with three birdies. His back-nine 2-under 34 brought him back to even par and forced a playoff with McInnis, who made an untimely bogey at No. 18.
McInnis will serve as first alternate, while Alex Weir of Erie, Pennsylvania, will be the second alternate after finishing at 1-over.