Top Two Seeds Fall at Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play
Top Two Seeds Fall at Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play
Dallas – Top two seeds fall in the 2016 Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play at Northwood Club.
The round of 32 began Friday morning with number one overall seed and Northwood Club member, Culley Barragan looking to advance to the next 16 against Jeff Wolff, who played 7 additional holes on Thursday just to earn the right to play in the match.
Barragan of Dallas was down early in his match versus Jeff Wolff, also from Dallas, before he won three straight holes to take a 1 up lead headed into the eleventh hole. However, those were his last holes won as Wolff tool three of the next seven holes and closed the match on the 17th with bogeys for both players to win 2 and 1.
Wolff squared off with Zach Atkinson, Colleyville, in the afternoon in the round 16. Zach played John Schaefer in the morning and only lost two holes on the day for a 3 and 2 victory. However, like his morning match, Zach kept the opposition quiet by only allowing Jeff Wolff to win one hole on the day. Zach’s 4 and 3 victory squares him up against Christopher Wheeler in the quarterfinals. Wheeler defeated Richmond’s John Dowdall 2 & 1 in the round of 32 in the morning and Dallas’ Sean McCauley Jr. in the quarters 3 & 2.
The other survivor of the 11 for 2 playoff after the Stroke Play qualifying round, Gary Ezmerlian, of Fort Worth, had a date with the second overall seed John Derrick from Waco.
Their match featured steady play from both players but Ezmerlian’s stretch of one under par golf between holes six through eleven allowed him to gain a four up advantage with just seven holes remaining. Derrick however, fought back and won three straight to just have a one hole disadvantage with just two to play. Emzerlian though parred his way in to grab a one up victory.
Ezmerlian squared off in the afternoon with Brett Forte, also of Fort Worth and he took the first two holes. However, Ezmerlian won five of the next seven holes to take a three up lead at the turn. An up and down back nine ended up seeing Ezmerlian win 3&2.
Ezmerlian’s next match will be against Dallas’ Josh Irving the reigning North Region and State Player of the Year. Josh beat Barrett Sandefur 2&1 in the morning and defeated Brian Noonan of Austin, 5 &4, to close out the day.
Austin’s Jay Reynolds recorded a hole-in-one of the 187 yard par three 16th with a 5-iron that took one bounce that went straight into the cup. Reynolds made mention that his shot looked perfect in air only to not find it on the green when they arrived. After scanning the back portion of the green, the ball was found in the cup. Reynolds used that momentum and closed out Beau Davis with a birdie on the 17th for a 2 and 1 victory.
Reynolds’ afternoon match was against a Northwood member and Dallas native, Ryan Hanratty. The match was tight the entire duration and even saw in extended to extra holes where Reynolds’ par, saw him through the quarters.
Scott Abbott, of Dallas, used a nine hole score of 30 early in the morning to have a 6 up lead into the turn versus Dallas’ Austin McDaniel. Abbott closed the match with pars on the 13th for a 6&5 victory. Abbott’s front nine score included birdies on four of the last five holes before heading to the back nine at Northwood Club.
The highest seed remaining is San Antonio’s Colby Harwell who beat Fort Worth’s Will Osborne 1 up in the Round of 32. His afternoon match however, was much tighter battle. Scott Abbott and Colby Harwell were four under par and all square after eighteen holes. After 20 holes though, Harwell’s birdie on the 553 yard par five, 2nd saw him outlast Abbott.
Quarterfinal matches will begin at 7:30 am off the 1st tee on Saturday. The victors will play again in the afternoon in the semifinals for their right to play for the championship on Sunday morning. For complete results, please click here