JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Remaining in the present tense played a key role in Ben Warian’s finishing at 13-under-par 267 and atop the leaderboard in the 83rd Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions.
But the recent University of Minnesota graduate also peered to the future moments after his round of 6-under 64 concluded Saturday afternoon at the Sunnehanna Country Club course.
Two more groups followed Warian’s. The final trio to finish the round included a red-hot University of Oklahoma rising junior Jase Summy.
Summy had strung together three birdie putts and an eagle from holes 10 through 13.
Even after a pair of bogeys and a birdie, the University of Oklahoma rising junior remained within a stroke of Warian, and he had a 6-foot attempt for a birdie that would have forced a playoff.
The putt rolled inches to the right of the hole, giving Warian the Sunnehanna Amateur championship and a chance to don the ceremonial green jacket.
PHOTO GALLERY | Ben Warian shoots 13-under-par to win 83rd Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions
“I did a really good job of staying in the present and doing my job on every hole, committing to every shot and going through the processes,” Warian said. “It feels great. It certainly means a lot.
“It always is great to be in contention no matter what the situation. The positivity is just accentuated here at an event like this. It’s such a special place and the support we’ve received from the entire community all week is special.”
Warian (267) won a tight battle. At various points of Saturday’s round, five or six different players remained in contention. Summy (268, 12-under) was followed by Murrysville’s Palmer Jackson (269, 11-under), a University of Notre Dame product appearing in his seventh Sunnehanna Amateur.
Brigham Young University’s Zac Jones (270) placed fourth at 10-under, with Colorado State University’s Connor Jones, University of South Carolina’s Nathan Franks, University of Oklahoma’s Matthew Troutman, Duke University’s Ethan Evans and University of Illinois’ Max Herendeen each tying for fifth place at 9-under 271.
“Normally when my back’s against the wall, I always play good golf,” Summy said. “I’ve seen that through my whole career playing golf. My back was against the wall.
“I was 2-under. Then, I was 1-over after nine. Something happens in my mind and I start kicking it into gear and making putts. If I can find out how to get that on the first tee, it’d be pretty good.”
Summy put together an amazing stretch, with a birdie on the par-three No. 10, followed by an eagle on the par-five No. 11. He hit back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 to reach 13-under.
Bogeys on 14 and 16 sandwiched his final birdie of the round on No. 15.
“I was just still trying to play my game,” Summy said. “I still was in a decent spot. I hit a good shot on 10 and fortunately, I just made a good putt. That kind of opened the can for the putter.
“I hit 3-iron off the tee on 11, then hit a 5-iron to the green and hit it to about 15 feet.”
Meanwhile, Warian remained steady. He led after Wednesday’s first round and entered Saturday’s round at 7-under and three strokes off Herendeen’s lead.
Warian got rolling midway through the front nine, with birdies on 6, 8 and 9. He followed with birdies on 11, 15 and 17 in a bogey-free round.
“Patience was the key,” Warian said. “The first five holes, I didn’t really give myself any really good looks. Kind of just fought out five pretty good pars. Six, I got a really good pin and I attacked it and it worked out really well. It was a spark for sure.”
Warian made a 60-foot putt for birdie on the ninth hole.
“Hole 9 was a bomb,” Warian said. “I kind of pulled it right off the tee and had a tough lay-up. Didn’t hit a bad shot, but caught the right rough and hit it to 60-plus feet.
“I hit a good putt and it had good speed. It turned in at the end.”
Perhaps less flashy, but just as significant was Warian’s par on 18 that kept him at 13-under.
He chipped from the rough above the right bunker to within five feet and made the ensuing putt.
“It was not my best wedge shot from the fairway,” Warian said. “I probably picked the wrong shot. I probably just should have took one less club and tried to hit something flat or take some of the spin off.
“I was very pleased with the pitch shot I hit there. It was a tricky lie on that upslope, a thicker lie. I’m happy it worked out the way it did.”
The sizable gallery at the 18th green let out a collective sigh as Summy’s potential round-tying putt barely missed the hole.
“I was disappointed I came up short, but I fought hard,” Summy said. “I’m not happy with the result, but I’m proud of my fight. I dug in and had some grit coming down the stretch.
“It just evened itself out. I made so many putts on the back nine. It was hard to make another one, but it’s all good.”
Jackson had a large group following him throughout the tournament held at his home-away-from-home course.
“It’s as close as I can get to a major event on my home turf,” Jackson said. “The people here treat me so well. I know the golf course well. It’s fun to come back and test my game on a difficult course.”
Playing in the final group, Jackson made birdie on No. 1 and followed with birdie putts on 3, 11 and 18. He made bogey on 6 and 16.
“I birdied No. 1 for the third straight day and it kind of got me off to a hot start,” Jackson said. “Then in the middle of the round, I kind of stalled a little bit. It was nice to birdie 18 even though it didn’t mean all that much. I felt right there all day.”
Herendeen held a one-stroke lead entering the final round and played well enough to land at 13-under following a birdie on No. 13, but he had bogeys on 14 and 15 followed by a double bogey on 16.
“I knew it was a pretty jammed leaderboard,” Jackson said. “I figured someone was going to have to win it as opposed to the leaders coming back because it was such a tight race.”
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