21-year-old secures U.S. Amateur berth
HUNT VALLEY, MD. – If finishing six strokes shy of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur was mildly disappointing for Steve Delmar in 2007, missing by a single stroke last summer was downright unbearable.
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But Monday at Hayfields, Delmar, a 21-year-old from Gaithersburg, made sure, firing a 5-under-par 139 for 36 grueling holes in 90-degree heat at Hayfields Country Club to comfortably secure an elusive berth in the Amateur. Monday’s humid conditions were preparation for what promises to be a warm U.S. Amateur championship, Aug. 24-30, at Southern Hills in Tulsa.
“Sweet, excited, ready to go,” said Delmar, a junior at Coastal Carolina. “I was telling everybody I keep getting closer and closer, so this could be my year.”
Delmar finished second in a field of 78 to grab one of three berths. He was a stroke behind medalist Will Collins, a junior at the University of Virginia, who lit up Hayfields with a 7-under-par 65 in the morning before cruising in with a second-round 73.
The third qualifying slot went to Zach Lese of Silver Spring, who outlasted Tracy Vallandingham of Leonardtown in a seven-hole playoff. The pair of 26-year-olds made pars on the first six holes. Then the fourth straight time they played No. 11, a 167-yard par 3, Lese hit a 7-iron to within 15 feet and drilled the putt in the dark to secure his first U.S. Amateur berth.
“I’m exhausted, mentally, physically, every way you can be,” said Lese, a member at Argyle. “All I’ve had today is a little bowl of cereal and two bananas.”
Delmar, an intern at Columbia Country Club and a member at Montgomery, played the front nine at Hayfields in 6-under. After starting on No. 10 and playing the back nine in even par, Delmar jump-started his round with four birdies on the first five holes of the front.
Pure ball striking was the key as Delmar hit sand wedges to within 1 and 5 feet on the first two holes. At No. 3, he hit an 8-iron to within 6 feet. At No. 5, a par 5, Delmar hit a driver and 3-wood to the fringe and two-putted.
“They were all pretty easy,” said Delmar. “I hit the ball really well. I could have gone a little lower with better putting.”
Teeing off at No. 1 to start the afternoon round, Delmar made birdies on three of the final five holes of the front nine to finish it at 2-under.
“I didn’t make too many putts, but I was hitting it close,” said Delmar. “I was in the fairway all day. I hit driver on all but two holes. Hitting it straight helps a lot.”
Delmar, a standout baseball player at Gaithersburg High, won the Washington Golf Association’s Dewey Ricketts Memorial in 2006 and was runner-up in the Maryland Amateur last summer, losing to Mike Mulieri.
Collins, the No. 1 player this season for the ACC champion Cavaliers, also made the Amateur for the first time. It was his first competitive event this summer after working with famed sports psychologist Bob Rotella, who is based in Charlottesville.
