Ben Reichert of River Oaks Golf Club edges field by one stroke
EAST AURORA, N.Y. – Ben Reichert of River Oaks Golf Club claimed the 97th New York State Men’s Amateur Championship by one stroke at Crag Burn Golf Club.
Reichert carded a one-over 73 in the fourth and final round on Thursday evening to finish at four-over 292 and secure his second NYS championship, the first being the 2015 NYS Boys’ Junior.
“It feels unbelievable. We looked at a four-shot lead at one point, and I made it a little harder on myself than I wish I would have. But, I was able to get it done and it’s all good now!” Reichert said.
Prior to the Men’s Am, Reichert won the 2019 Florida State Amateur Championship in a sudden-death playoff. Speaking on how that prepared him for this tournament, Reichert said, “100%. I knew exactly what I’d be feeling coming down the stretch. I knew how to handle it. Trust is the biggest thing. Trust what you do, and you can’t really go wrong.”
For the second year in a row, Chris Blyth of Mendon Golf Club finished as runner-up at five-over 293.
“To come up a shot short again this year is disappointing, but I can’t be too upset with the way I played. It’s always a lot of fun playing in this tournament. Coming in second this year and last year is an honor and hopefully next year, I will do better,” Blyth said.
Two Crag Burn players tied for third at six-over 294, including three-time NYS Champion Jamie Miller and former NYS Sub-Junior Champion Tony Hejna.
Speaking on playing this event at his home course, Hejna said, “I think this place is fantastic. The course played great. I think it was a great event for the club and we were glad to host it.”
“I thought the course was awesome; it held up really well. We had all different types of weather so that was cool too, since we get that every day here,” Miller added. Thursday’s 36 holes were delayed twice due to inclement weather.
Rounding out the top five was Adrian Norford of Willowbrook Golf Club at seven-over 295. Prescott Butler of Piping Rock Club and Billy Hanes of Crag Burn finished T-6 at eight-over 296. Christian Chapman of Cobblestone Creek Country Club and Kyle Ritchie of Cherry Valley finished T-8 at 12-over 300. James McHugh of Rye Golf Club carded a 13-over 301 to earn tenth place.
Defending champion, Will Thomson of Oak Hill Country Club, finished the 72-hole tournament at 305 (T-18). The Top 20 will earn an exemption into next year’s tournament.
Reichert begins his junior season on the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s men’s golf team in the next couple weeks. He will be back next summer to defend his Men’s Am title.
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2019 NYS Men’s Amateur Championship – Final Results
1 Ben Reichert, River Oaks Golf Club 77-67-75-73–292
2 Chris Blyth, Mendon Golf Club 72-73-73-75–293
3 Tony Hejna, Crag Burn Golf Club 74-73-75-72–294
3 Jamie Miller, Crag Burn Golf Club 75-71-70-78–294
5 Adrian Norford, Willowbrook Golf Club 74-72-73-76–295
6 Prescott Butler, Piping Rock Club 74-71-77-74–296
6 Billy Hanes, Crag Burn Golf Club 76-74-75-71–296
8 Christian Chapman, Cobblestone Creek 77-79-71-73–300
8 Kyle Ritchie, Cherry Valley Club 72-79-71-78–300
10 James McHugh, Rye Golf Club 78-78-74-71–301
11 Tom Linehan, Brook-Lea Country Club 79-70-74-79–302
11 Jeff March, Mendon Golf Club 78-72-73-79–302
13 Evan Clarke, Stafford Country Club 74-72-75-82–303
13 Brandon Grzywacz, Shelridge Country Club 79-73-78-73–303
13 Jim Scorse, Stafford Country Club 80-72-77-74–303
16 Shane Devincenzo, Port Jefferson CC 75-80-76-73–304
16 Kyle Downey, Locust Hill Country Club 76-72-78-78–304
18 John Schob, Winged Foot Golf Club 76-78-75-76–305
18 Evan Sitts, Ouleout Golf Course 78-76-76-75–305
18 Will Thomson, Oak Hill Country Club 72-78-74-81–305
21 Adam Condello, Locust Hill Country Club 80-74-78-75–307
21 Anthony Delisanti, Willowbrook Golf Course 77-77-75-78–307
21 Dominic Formato, North Hills Country Club 76-75-75-81–307
21 Danny Gianniny, Country Club of Rochester 78-76-78-75–307
21 David Hanes, Crag Burn Golf Club 75-73-77-82–307
26 Colin McGaugh, Seven Oaks Golf Club 75-69-82-82–308
27 Patrick Nealon, Brierwood Country Club 81-71-76-81–309
27 Kevin Vandenberg, Tuscarora Golf Club 74-78-77-80–309
29 Ryan Rodriguez, The Golf Club at Mansion 80-72-74-84–310
30 Steven Cacchio, NYSGA eClub – Central NY 76-74-81-81–312
30 Patrick Keegan, Locust Hill Country Club 72-80-78-82–312
32 Jason Lohwater, Locust Hill Country Club 79-77-71-86–313
32 Jonny Petrin, Lake Shore 1860 81-76-80-76–313
34 Gray Barnes, Centennial Golf Club 78-77-77-82–314
35 Nicklaus Ambrose, Fox Valley Club 80-75-77-83–315
35 Timothy Saur, Oak Hill Country Club 76-81-80-78–315
37 Justin Lane, Woodstock Golf Club 76-79-75-86–316
38 B. Michael Rogers, Stafford Country Club 78-70-78-91–317
39 Jeremy Summerson, Cobblestone Creek 78-78-82-80–318
40 Brent Fredericksen, Silver Lake Men’s Golf 76-81-81-82–320
40 Connor McCarthy, Cobleskill G&CC 78-79-78-85–320
42 Clinton Lange, Capital Hills at Albany 71-85-82-90–328
43 James Tee, Shelridge Country Club 79-78-86-87–330
