By Ron Rop
Local Sports Journal
It took five playoff holes to determine which golfers advanced out of the U.S. Amateur qualifier at Muskegon County Club on Monday.
Reed Hrynewich
The prize for finishing in the top two is a trip to the U.S. Amateur Aug. 13-19 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado. That course has hosted eight United States Golf Association events, but also two PGA Championships.
Those golfers will be Stephane Dubois, from Brantford, Ontario, Canada and Brett Patterson from McMinnville, Tenn. Patterson needed the fifth playoff hole to finally edge out Jerred Bareley, from Tipton, for the second, and final spot.
Three area golfers competed, including Reed Hrynewich, Nate Mogren (76-79-155) and Scott Schuitema (75-83-158).
Hrynewich shot a 74 in the morning round and a 1-under-par 71 in the afternoon. The 71 was the best round among all players for the afternoon round. His 145 left him one shot short of being an alternate for the tournament in Colorado.
“I did better in the afternoon,” Hrynewich said. “In the morning, I missed a lot of putts and had a lost ball.”
His game picked up in the afternoon, despite the fact the breeze picked up and pushed up the scores just a bit.
“In the second round I had 10 birdie putts inside 12 feet and only had six in the first round,” said Hrynewich, who will be a senior at Mona Shores this fall. Of the 10 birdie putts, the dropped three into the cup.
“I was very happy with my ball striking and everything, but was upset with how I putted,” said Hrynewich, who will be playing in an American Junior Golf Association event next week at Warwick Hills on the east side of the state.
